Soulrend: The Fallen Ones
by BlueWolf1923
Summary: Undertaker, the Dark Angel of Death, has descended to Earth and chosen a human host in Mark Calaway. The forces of darkness and evil are uniting in the small, half-destroyed town of Death Valley, and his duty is to stand in their way, but he need not do it alone. Humans have gathered behind the hand of justice, and the sword it wields. Rated T for cursing and violence.
1. Origins

Soulrend - The Fallen City

Chapter 1: Origins

This chapter should, ideally, explain what the hell I'm trying to do with this story, by introducing all the major characters. Undertaker is the main character, but there's other ones, too. This fic doesn't center solely on the Brothers of Destruction, and they're not the only ones with superpowers, but they're two of the most powerful, and most prominent, characters.

Undertaker

Real Name: Mark Calaway

Origin: Born completely human, he spent a long time not knowing anything about the underworld, but he gets wind of an impending cataclysm, and prays to God for safety. It's not God who answers, though. The real Undertaker, the last remaining Angel of Death, speaks to him and grants him enormous power. By day, he wears a black hat and coat, and exists solely as a mortal, with minimal lightning power, but by night, the Undertaker's mind, body, and soul merge with his. He becomes immortal, unstoppable, and wears hooded black robes with a cloak attached to his back. This cloak can transform into the Undertaker's wings, fifteen feet of deep black feathers. He wields a weapon from a long-forgotten age, the angel sword Soulrend, with which he can attack an enemy's soul directly.

Kane

Real Name: Jacob Glenn-Calaway

Origin: born with intense pyrokinetic powers, he is the illegitimate son of Paul Bearer and the Undertaker's mother, and was hospitalized at the age of five on the base of insanity. For twenty years, he has been in a padded cell, which he regularly ignites. The only world he has ever known is the fires of Hell, shown to him by the sinister voices in his head. However, he is set free by an explosion which levels most of his prison facility, and while the demonic voices whisper, he seeks out allies in the ruined city he has never seen before, eventually crossing paths with the great Dark Angel, Undertaker himself. However, his real goal is the only one the voices don't push upon him: vengeance. His sole purpose is to kill his mortal tormentor, Paul Bearer.

Paul Bearer

Real Name: Paul Glenn

Origin: born with minimal demonic powers, and a lot of ambition, he rose to power as a psychologist and politician. He studies his part-demon son Kane in the mental institution where he works. He shows no remorse at Kane's pain, only desperation, to claim his son's fearsome powers for himself. After the cataclysm that destroys half of the city, he returns to Kane's cell, to find he has escaped. Paul Bearer, once Death Valley Mayor Paul Glenn, is on a downward spiral of insanity as he succumbs to the lure of dark power. Under his command, a gang of demon hybrids is growing, and storming the ravaged streets. Only the Undertaker can stop his reign of terror, and he can't do it alone…

X

Mark Calaway was human. Completely normal, mortal, human.

That is, he _was _human.

It started late last night, he was just riding his Harley, looking either insane or badass with sunglasses on at night. Riding home from work, at a nuclear plant east of Death Valley, California. It was July 26th, not exactly a time for snow, yet there were the white flecks in his face.

They smelled like smoke, mixed with the unspeakable scent of radioactive death. The reactor was failing, and given his eight years on the job, he knew it would fail violently. As of yet, this fallout wouldn't harm him, this was the depleted thorium that the reactor had consumed. The radioactive levels were too low to bring death, but the reactor would blow, within a few hours. A normal man would drive until the chopper fell apart beneath him, but Mark knew, there was no way he would escape in time. He went home, and prayed.

For three hours, Mark Calaway prayed to a God who relentlessly refused to answer. When at last he ran out of things to pray for, he slumped backward onto his bed. "Amen."

"do not resign yourself to death." Mark sat upright and reached for his knife. It was a good foot of cold steel wrapped in black leather and always hanging on his belt. "I have no form in this world, Mark. You cannot harm me."

"what are you?" he growled, and stood, still clutching the knife.

"salvation," the apparition replied, and Mark Calaway was consumed on darkness.

When at last his mind recovered, Mark Calaway was no longer human. He was a being made of darkness, robed in black, his face almost completely hidden by the shadow of his hood. He was standing atop the highest skyscraper in Death Valley, Glenn Tower. He watched in horror, unharmed, as the reactor exploded, levelling half the city. "why did you bring me here?" Mark cried, and fell to his knees, tears in his eyes.

"to explain." the Undertaker, that is, the true, immortal Undertaker, took control of Mark's body, and drew a sword of shimmering black metal from the sheath at Mark's hip. The guard was in the shape of a screaming skull, the blade etched with a lightning bolt. "this is Soulrend. I am the Undertaker. You are my chosen host."

Mark couldn't scream, but he tried, as his grip on sanity loosened, but did not come undone entirely.

X

Glenn Asylum for the Dangerously Insane, same time

_Kane._

_Kane…_

Yes, that was his name. His true name, not the name the doctors used on him. Only the voices knew him by this name, them, and Bearer. But both of these were obliterated by the sight that stretched before Kane.

Flame, glorious roaring flame, stretched out in a path that led out of the padded cell he had called home almost his entire life, yet now, he could finally be free.

_Do it. Walk into the fire. You were born to do this, to do my will._

Kane stepped into the flames, and grinned. This was true power, not the weakling flames he conjured to play with. He had total command of this fire, and he intended to use it.

A world he had never known stretched out around him. It was much like Hell here, but in the distance, he could see towers. Spires. He headed toward them.

A few hours later…

"Hey, H. Someone wants to see you. Says he has powers."

Hunter Hearst-Helmsley, alias Hunter, alias H, alias Triple H, alias Game, alias King, leaned forward in his leather reclining chair. In the doorway to his right stood Randy Orton, his right-hand man, who happened to have strength and speed far exceeding that a man his size should have been able to generate. He also had a little bit of pyrokinesis, the ability to manipulate flame. All of these were fairly common powers. "send him in," Hunter grunted, and resumed listening to Motorhead on his MP3 whilst watching an old action movie. "he tasted a grin, and it tasted good. The King took his head, left him broken and dead…"

A man wearing a ripped-up straitjacket and ragged pants shambled into the room his hair was long, black, and matted over his face. "Jesus, man. You look like you've been through hell."

"I have," Kane muttered, and flopped into the couch next to Hunter's chair. "it's nice."

"the couch?""Hell."

Hunter laughed. "hey, Randy, I like this guy!" he took his headphones out, and looked at Kane. "I'll give you this much, you're a scary guy. So, what can you do?"

Kane lit his entire arm on fire. "what do you want me to burn?"

Hunter laughed again. "so you're a pyro. Guys like you come and go, but I like your attitude. You're in."

"what can you do?"Hunter's smile faded. "you don't really want to know."

Kane changed the subject. "you know about all that fire out there?"

"not my problem."

Kane shrugged. "what did you mean, I'm in?"

"you serious?"

"the voice just told me to come here."

"oh, another voices guy. Can't say I'm surprised. Hey, Randy, get the guys in here!" Randy opened the door, and in walked Adam "Edge" Copeland, Phil "CM Punk" Brooks, John Cena, and Shawn Michaels, Hunter's best friend. H introduced them, and explained. "we're a gang, we're thugs, we're whatever you want to call it. Not a nice business, but we're the best. Yeah, we may not be into killing people for fun, we don't traffic in drugs, but they hate us, and now they'll hate us even more."

"why?""look around. The police can't keep us contained in this chaos. We feed off chaos, so we'll be ready, and we'll be on top."

"I like the sound of that."

"I bet you do. What's your name, big man?"

"Kane."

"just Kane?"

"they have other names for me."

X

The Undertaker and Mark, through the same eyes, watched the first hint of sunrise, obliterated by the snowstorm that filled the sky in moments. "what's happening now?"

"demonic energy mixing with the radiation. If all goes well, this should use up the fallout and save lives."

"run this by me again. What have I become?""a host. By night, we walk with the same feet, and by day, I leave you, with enough power to keep you protected. Whenever the darkness surrounds you, I can speak to you, and we join forces. This is because I am a Dark Angel, a being born of both Heaven and Hell, affiliated to neither. The deal is this: I inhabit you for the remainder of your life, and when you die, your death will free me into this world, so that I may live in peace here. In exchange, you will have my power, my weapon, and by night, you will be immortal."

"my soul doesn't fit anywhere into this?"

"only demons bargain for souls."

"then you have a deal."

"this storm shields you from the sun. Use this time to explore our power."

The Undertaker released his hold on Mark, allowing him to flex his wings. Wings? Mark brought the "wings" forward, and found they were in fact a cloak in two parts, which he could control with his mind, as one controls an arm or a leg. He drew the ancient sword Undertaker had given him, and flung himself off the roof of Glenn Tower. He flew a few feet off the street, and the alarms on the cars he passed howled into life.

He lowered his feet to the asphalt and stopped, skidding briefly, when he saw a large bus flung across the street by an overweight black man in a very expensive suit, surprisingly clean and unwrinkled since the man wearing it had just thrown a bus. The man looked back at him, eyes as wide as Mark's were under the shadowy hood. "what the hell are you?" they said simultaneously. Mark was first to attack, and he drew Soulrend smoothly from the black wooden sheath, lunging forward with it in hand.

The other man dodged the blade and picked up Mark, then threw him into the same building where the bus had crashed.

Mark Henry dusted off his hands and smoothed out the front of his suit, then kept walking. Mark Calaway, however, shot him in the back of the head with a jagged blue lightning bolt. Mark Henry turned to face Undertaker, who was standing, unharmed if a bit roughed up, in the middle of the street. Two more bolts hit Henry in the face as Undertaker approached, but Henry ripped a telephone pole out of the ground, and swung it at the Undertaker, who ducked and darted forward, stabbing Mark Henry in the chest with Soulrend.

The reason for the sword's name became apparent when it glowed purple, and as Mark withdrew it, he saw no blood, merely a clean-sliced hole where he had stabbed. Mark Henry, clutching the invisible, bloodless wound, turned and fled. Calaway might have followed, but the Lamborghini Aventador Spyder rounding a corner past Mark Henry caught his immediate attention.

Kane was standing in the passenger seat, spewing fire from his right hand, which he deliberately aimed at Henry. Triple H was driving.

Behind Undertaker came another car, this one a heavily modified Corvette, which John Cena drove, while Randy Orton aimed an AK-47 at Henry out the passenger window.

Thirdly came a Dodge Ram which nearly ran Henry over, with Edge at the wheel, and CM Punk throwing homemade grenades. Yes indeed, pipe bombs. However, even through all of this, Mark Henry escaped, ducking into an alley and recovering from the wounds. He was nearly bulletproof, and could regrow an arm in seconds, so he could shrug off most attacks, but Soulrend had not struck flesh.

Triple H got out of the Lamborghini, and gawked at the Undertaker. "fuck, Shawn, are you seeing this?" apparently Michaels was watching through a camera somewhere.

Kane and Undertaker were trying to stare each other down, however, this wasn't easy, since Undertaker's face was hidden by a hood, and Kane's by a red metal mask. Kane attacked with a spout of flame, but the Undertaker blocked it with the broad blade of Soulrend. He shot back with lightning, and sent Kane flying out of the Lamborghini. "hey, skinny-fat, shoot him!" Punk, though he hated this name, obediently shot Undertaker in the head. The Undertaker twitched backward an inch or so, then turned toward Punk. He was forced to turn again when Edge attacked him from behind with a knife. Copeland shrank back in terror, and the Undertaker turned slowly to face Triple H. Hunter stalked forward and faced the monstrous, reaper-esque shade, at a distance of about ten feet. "you speak English, right?"

Mark hesitated. "yeah," he finally growled.

"you took on Mark Henry, single-handedly."

"yeah."

"I want you on my side."

Mark considered this. "who's he?" he said, nodding to Kane.

"the new guy. I thought you might know him, the way he attacked you."

"and you have more information about this Mark Henry?"

"we know who he is, where he lives, who he works for…"

"shut up." Triple H stepped back, surprised. No one ever told him to shut up. "we'll talk about Henry, we'll talk about whatever mob operation this is, we'll talk about me caving skulls in, but we'll talk about that later." the Undertaker took off into the air, and disappeared over the horizon of rooftops, leaving Triple H and crew wondering what had just happened.

X

A/N: I have three other stories I'm actively working on, so I can't promise when this'll be updated, but I'm definitely not going to abandon it. I'm going to really enjoy writing this story, I only hope that you enjoy reading it.

Blue Wolf


	2. Evolution

The Fallen Ones

2: Evolution

I mentioned in my previous Taker story that I thought I wouldn't start this till mid-July, but here we are, not even a week after that story ends and I'm back at it. The difference is, though, that I'm not giving myself any deadlines for these chapters, so I can release them whenever I have them, rather than before, where I cranked out a short chapter once a week which I often found disappointing.

Oh, and Evolution is in fact the name of HHH's gang.

Hunter relaxed, arms behind his head, listening to Motorhead killing whatever small and fragile systems powered his sense of hearing. "it's all about the game, and how you play it, all about control and if you can take it, it's all about your debt and if you can pay it, it's all about the pain and who's gonna make it. I am the game, you don't wanna play me, I am control, there's no way you can change me, I am your debts, and I know you can't pay me, I am the pain, and I know you can't take me!" Hunter began to sing along, still paying no attention to CM Punk, who was waiting to inform him that someone was once again waiting for him. "look over your shoulder, ready to run, like a good little bitch from a smoking gun! I am the game, and I make the rules, so move out or you can die like a fool…"

Punk, risking a smashed face, turned down the blaring speakers. "Hunter, I'm sorry, man, but the Undertaker is waiting outside."

"you're telling me the guy who kicked Mark Henry's ass and nearly killed Kane is just waiting at the door? He should have kicked it down by now."

As if in response to Triple H's remark, Edge was thrown through the door to Hunter's private hangout, and he landed on his back, groaning in pain. Mark Calaway, now wearing a black leather trenchcoat and matching fedora, stalked into the room. Triple H was already on his feet, sledgehammer in hand. "now, that's more like it. So you're human after all…" Mark made no response. "all silent now, huh? I like that, it's kind of menacing. Don't try creeping me out, though. I've seen some scary shit, and you're high on the list, but don't make the mistake of thinking you can fuck with me."

Mark spoke very slowly, with a faint edge of menace, "you will tell me about Henry, and while you do, you will bring me Kane."

"not yet, I won't." Hunter set down his sledgehammer. "you're gonna sign up first."

Mark heard John Cena cracking his knuckles behind him, blocking the exit. He also saw Shawn Michaels dual-wielding M9 military-issue handguns behind Hunter. "is this," he asked with malice, "your best intimidation? An Eminem knockoff and a cowboy wannabe? I expected more."

Hunter cracked a grin. "that Eminem knockoff happens to be one of very few people who can come close to Mark Henry's strength. The guy behind me knows about a thousand ways to kill you with your own fucking hat, and speaking of which, you shouldn't talk about cowboy wannabes."

Everyone was silent. No one wanted to give first, no one knew who had the upper hand, no one knew what the Undertaker was actually capable of.

Finally, Calaway smirked. "yeah, you guys are tough. Enough for me to trust you, at least. Given what you saw me do yesterday, I half expected some of you to shit your pants. But here you are, ready for a fight, and I like that. But there remains the matter of Kane and Henry. I want to see Kane, now."

"over here," Kane growled, and emerged from the shadows behind Hunter's flatscreen.

In this moment, looking from Undertaker to Kane and back, Triple H saw something that sent a chill down his spine. Even armed with his sledgehammer, and his ace in a sleeve, his powers, he stepped out of the way of the two. This time, there was neither fire nor lightning, no words.

Mark sized up this new rival, looked around at the objects he could use as weapons, the walls he could throw Kane through, and noted it all, but didn't attack. If he fought Kane, it would be at night, when he could unleash all his, or rather the Undertaker's, power.

"so," Edge said, breaking the silence, "you're looking for Mark Henry."

Mark turned to Edge, and the last of his glare to Kane transferred to Edge. Then, he recognized the humanity of Adam Copeland, how little a relative threat he posed, and he calmed down. "I want to know why that man is capable of throwing a bus."

"he's capable of a lot more than that." Triple H almost sighed as the tension left the air. "he's a high-ranking goon working for a mob boss using the alias Paul Bearer. Our boy Cena here…" he gestured to the so-called Eminem knockoff, wearing a gold chain an inch thick, a backward black baseball cap, and a white muscle shirt, "has actually fought him one-on-one."

John Cena added, "best fight of my life."

"you got the shit beat out of you!" Punk said, and laughed.

"hey, so did he, skinny-fat."

"I'll take that name from Hunter, I won't take it from you, Fruity Pebbles." CM Punk balled his fists and took a step toward Cena, but Triple H stopped him.

"Fruity Pebbles?" Mark was puzzled.

"an old nickname one of us gave him, back when he went around in a bright purple t-shirt."

Mark nodded. "where can I find Henry?"

"you'll find him wherever you can find Paul Bearer, problem is, that's the place you'll never get to. Bearer's as untouchable as I am," Hunter replied.

Mark grabbed him by the throat, and every gun in the room was levelled at his head. "no one," he growled, "is untouchable."

X

Night fell on the half-destroyed city, a haven of anarchy now. No military would enter, for fear of radiation. If they only knew!

Paul Glenn, alias Paul Bearer, had already owned this city. He had been the mayor, he had been the mob boss, he even had access to the one thing that would have made him even more powerful, that being his illegitimate son, Kane. Now, however, even though Kane had vanished, he didn't have to fear being caught.

Kane had power far surpassing Paul's own, and it had been Paul's intent to somehow imitate his son. Brainwave patterns, muscle use, anything Kane said or did, anything that could be the source, was monitored, quantified, measured, analyzed. Nothing worked, and Paul had run out of time. Kane escaped, leaving Bearer with what? Smoke. That was all Bearer ever managed, smoke. Now his weakness, his only remaining weakness, tormented him. He wanted to be a god among men, and he couldn't do that with smoke.

His thugs, all with power surpassing his, but dumb as rocks, were all present. Mark Henry, David Batista, Brock Lesnar, to name a few, which was good for Bearer, because he would need them all in the coming minutes.

Thunder crashed, and Bearer jumped. Batista raised an eyebrow, but his smugness was gone when the light bulbs began to explode. None of them had pyrokinesis, none could generate light.

Meanwhile, Mark Calaway, still looking very much human, stood on a roof across the street, aiming lightning bolts at any wires or electrical equipment he saw, destroying the electrical systems within. Brock Lesnar came to a window, and opened fire on him with an assault rifle. Mark took six shots to the chest, and stumbled backward. Brock Lesnar grinned, but the smile was wept from his face when Mark allowed his body to become that of a Dark Angel. His trenchcoat and hat transformed into the hooded robes the Undertaker had bound to him, and he drew the sword Soulrend as his cloak-wings spread, and he jumped.

"what the fuck was that?" Lesnar cried out, and reloaded his rifle.

"yeah, I saw that shit too," Mark Henry growled. "I know that guy. Don't let him hit you with that sword."

"you think he survived that jump?"

Henry didn't answer, merely waited until he heard a window break below them.

"how the hell did he find out where I was?" Bearer whined.

"boss, relax, we'll kill him, no problem…" Batista's sentence was ended by him yelping in the almost total darkness, and then a sickening thud.

Brock Lesnar gave a battlecry and charged into the darkness, the flash from his rifle illuminating the Undertaker standing over the broken Dave Batista, who twitched weakly on the floor.

Unholy blue lightning shot forth from the Undertaker's hand, slamming into Lesnar and sending him flying through a window. This left Bearer and Henry on opposite sides of the room. Thunder clapped outside, and Bearer screamed in terror. The Undertaker, however, targeted Henry, and tackled him through the same window as Brock Lesnar. They briefly exchanged blows in midair, but the Undertaker could fly, and Henry couldn't. he grabbed Henry by the ankle and spun in midair, shaking Henry's grip loose of his shoulders. He raised the 400-pound man over his shoulders, and, still holding him by an ankle, swung him with tremendous force into the pavement, releasing his grip when Henry was properly aimed. The big man shot downward with enough speed to create a crater in the asphalt. The Undertaker watched from above as Lesnar woke up and groaned. He caught sight of the Undertaker, and stood. He stomped down on the pavement, and from his footprint, a crack in the earth shot forward. A few feet ahead of Lesnar, this crack culminated in a huge chunk of pavement and earth flying into the air. Lesnar pushed it forward, with his power which apparently concerned stone and earth. It picked up speed as it approached the Undertaker, but its intended target dodged to the right. The Undertaker raised his arm and summoned another lightning bolt, returning fire on Lesnar and once again knocking him out.

X

Meanwhile, Evolution were closing in on Glenn Tower, where the storm was at its first intense. "you really think Mayor Glenn has a connection to Bearer?" Shawn Michaels asked.

"I think he is Bearer, man. I can't believe we didn't figure it out years ago. The guy has absolute power."

"damn. Kinda makes me feel inferior."

Hunter floored the gas even harder. He knew the Undertaker was there, likely outnumbered, and then there was the matter of Kane, who had taken off for the skyscraper the moment he heard Paul Glenn's name. apparently he had some kind of grudge. For a guy who had been in a loony bin since he was six, the freak could sure handle a car.

"if Bearer's the mob boss and the mayor, he's gonna have firepower."

"we got Punk, we got Kane, and now the Undertaker. Don't talk about firepower, Shawn."

Kane was behind the wheel of a hotwired Mustang, likely from Cena's collection. He had a rocket launcher in the passenger seat. They were approaching the tower complex, and Kane was actually picking up speed.

"Shawn, this guy knows what a brake is, right?""don't ask me. Cena taught him to drive.""Cena… oh, fuck, that's ironic."

"what…" Shawn realized what Hunter had concluded, and added slowly, "oh. Hell. No."

"yep." John Cena was particularly horrified as he watched Kane drive his prized custom Mustang through the side of Glenn Tower without flinching, however, Cena was alone in his Corvette, so no one could hear the long string of curses he let fly.

Kane, unseen by the rest of Evolution, kicked open the driver's side door, hands already alight with flames. He was bent on revenge and nothing else. He heard the Undertaker's lightning, as Brock Lesnar finally decided to stay down, only to be replaced by a furious David Batista. Kane shook away the distractions, and let the demon voices guide him up each stairwell. He was closing in on his father.

CM Punk aided Mark Calaway in the fight against Batista, who seemed unfazed by the broken bones and charred flesh he sustained in battle. He was healing at a rate which shouldn't have been possible. Calaway landed and drew Soulrend, but Batista had heeded Mark Henry's advice, and kept out of the sword's reach.

Punk threw his last pipe bomb and ran for cover as Batista picked it up. He tried to throw it back, but the Undertaker shot his hand with lightning, detonating the bomb and blowing his arm off. It immediately began to regrow.

X

Kane felt Bearer's presence, his father was huddled under a desk, feebly praying that Kane wouldn't find him, but of course, Kane sensed him and approached. With no alternative, Bearer stood with a shotgun and opened fire. Kane recoiled from the hail of shot, and set himself aflame. "father, I will have my revenge," he thundered as the flames spread. "I will take your soul as payment for what you did to me."

Bearer ran away, faster than a man in his shape should have been able to run, and Kane hesitantly let him go. There was still another presence, and he went to investigate.

The click of a sniper rifle's bolt drew him three rooms down, for his hearing was sharpened by his demonic blood. He kicked open the door, and found a sniper in a gray hoodie and skinny blue jeans aiming out the window at Batista. She was on one knee, ready for the killing shot. "shh…" she whispered, and flicked off the safety.

Kane cocked his head to one side, and extinguished the flames over his arms. He watched as the young woman put the scope to her eye, and fired.

Far below, Batista took the sniper's shot through his right temple. He fell to his knees, and the Undertaker impaled him with Soulrend, delivering a blow not to flesh, but to his soul. Batista finally collapsed, and back in the otherwise empty room in Glenn Tower, the sniper stood, to a rather unimposing height. She was barely over five feet, and weighed perhaps a hundred pounds. She flicked off her hood, and turned to face Kane. Her caramel-tan face almost matched the shade of the hair which hung halfway down her back, or would have, if it had not been stuffed into her hood. AJ bent to pick up the ejected shell from her rifle, and tossed it to Kane, who caught and examined it. It was silver, and intricately carved. "it's old school stuff, Dark Angel metal. That guy down there, Batista, he'll wake up eventually, but he'll wish he hadn't."

Kane simply stared. Not only was she completely unafraid of him, but in her own strange way, she was frightening. Not to him, of course, but to almost anyone else. Kane stepped aside to let AJ pass, surprising himself with his own passiveness, and shook his head in disbelief when he saw AJ actually skipping down the hall, rifle slung on her back. She stopped, and turned, saying, "oh, and tell Punk AJ says hi."

Kane watched her leave, then looked out the broken window idly. "that was unusual," he mumbled.

X

Are you surprised I introduced AJ? I know I am… honestly, I didn't see it coming at all, but it seemed like a good idea, what with the Kane x AJ x Punk thing going on. Now that I've introduced one Diva, I'm probably going to have to introduce more… but which ones… it's a beard-scratcher, too bad I don't have a beard.


	3. Angel of Death

I decided to give the Undertaker some more backstory, by which I'm referring to the Dark Angel that gives Mark Calaway his powers. Also, we'll be seeing some more Divas (and whatever the hell Vickie is) courtesy of The Last Hatake.

X

Kane groaned, and writhed on the floor, to the sound of crunching brick. The Undertaker had thrown him through a wall, and Hunter was not happy about it. Kane tried to sit up, but the Undertaker's boot on his throat pinned him again.

"Taker, let him up."

The black-robed wraith that Mark Calaway had become still recognized the tone of a young woman's voice. AJ added, "trust me, he won't fight you any more."

Mark removed his foot from Kane's throat, but kicked him in the ribs for good measure. Even with this parting blow, Kane did as AJ predicted, and surrendered. He also coughed blood and collapsed when he tried to stand, but he laughed amid the rubble of the wall. "the Undertaker never explained why he wanted a host, did he?" Mark froze. Kane shouldn't have known that Mark's powers were from another being. "yeah, that's right. Or why you and I hate each other? No? let me fill you in." Kane tried to stand again, but gave up and just sat. "he's not just a Dark Angel. I knew when I saw Soulrend, that you're the avatar of an Angel of Death. And, if what I've heard in Hell is true, you and the Undertaker are the last of your kind."

Mark dispelled the robes that he wore by night, and they were replaced by a black leather trenchcoat and fedora. Everyone was watching him and Kane. He considered kicking Kane again, but thought better of it and stalked away.

"hey, Jake? You okay?" AJ knelt next to Kane, calling him by his birth name.

"nobody calls me Jake. Even the shrinks barely got away with Jacob."

"sorry… Kane, then. Are you okay?"

"it'll take a lot more than a wall to keep me down."

"he threw a lightning bolt in your face!" CM Punk remarked.

"what you fail to acknowledge is that I have never tasted the weakness of humanity."

"that's a lie."

Kane turned to face AJ. "what was that?"

"you've always been able to do your fire thing, but you were human. A long time ago, you let people call you Jake. People like your parents. People like your brother."

"my family is dead. All of them. You're right, I was human once, but my humanity died with my family."

Kane shook himself and finally stood. He wandered away, limping badly. AJ turned to talk sense into Mark, but Hunter stopped her.

"you never mentioned you were telepathic. That's a useful ability."

AJ glared at Hunter, who stepped backward and put his palms on his temples, clearly in intense pain. AJ pushed him aside, no small feat considering their respective sizes.

"I didn't even know she could do that," Punk muttered to Cena.

"you know her?"

"it's a long story."

"I got time."

"well, when I say it's a long story, I mean she'll probably kill me before I can finish telling it."

X

AJ crept silently through the open doorway, listening to Mark apparently talking to himself. "Taker, what's an Angel of Death?"

He subsequently answered himself, "the Angel of Death is me."

"that's not an answer."

"I can't explain it without taking you through a visual representation of my memories. It'll be quite painful."

"do your worst."

"as you wish." AJ hesitantly entered Mark's thoughts as the vision began.

X

They were in a picturesque valley dotted with buildings of elaborate black stone, most resembling ornate cathedrals. Mark looked at AJ, and she shrugged. "couldn't resist," she said quietly.

"where the fuck are we?" Mark, receiving no answer, looked around, and saw a man in black robes, the Undertaker's robes. His hood was down, showing his face. His skin was dark grey like stone, and his hair was black as night, long enough to hide his eyes. He was being led by a man in white to one of the cathedrals. Mark and AJ followed. The Undertaker and the man in white entered the cathedral, but the door closed before Mark and AJ could step inside. Mark reached for the door, but his hand passed through. "oh, this is a memory. We're not really here." he calmly walked through the door, and AJ followed, slowly. "they can't hear us…"

"good. I think I should let you in on something." AJ drew the handgun that hung on her right hip, and handed the clip to Mark. He noticed the bullets immediately, which were identical to the one Kane had seen. "Dark Angel weaponry doesn't normally attack someone's soul directly. So, your sword is unique, and I think we're about to find out why."

_Yes… _the Undertaker's voice echoed inside the memory. _You are about to witness the most horrible moment of my life, which has been longer than your race can truly comprehend. _The white-robed Dark Angel, flanked by black-robed spectators, hefted a huge, two-handed scythe from the altar in front of him. With this weapon, he turned to face the Undertaker. "are you ready?" he thundered.

"I am ready," the Undertaker replied.

He was not ready.

The white-robed angel swung the scythe into the Undertaker's chest, piercing his heart. This was protocol, as was the transformation of the scythe into a new weapon, in this case Soulrend, but what wasn't was the burst of white light and explosion.

_The Angel of Death is the paragon of all Dark Angels, the ultimate perfection of what our race can be. We are given power far beyond our peers, and sent to the mortal realm. If the need should arise, the Angel of Death may choose a human avatar to act out his will. This usually only happens when Heaven and Hell threaten war, and the Dark Angels must restore peace on the battlefield, meaning Earth._

When the light faded, the Undertaker was kneeling in the rubble of the cathedral. The white-robed Angel was dead, as were the other Dark Angels. _The power of Soulrend can only be passed on by Azrael of the White, who is dead. Without a successor, the true power of Soulrend, and the Angel of Death, will be lost forever._

"what caused this? Why the explosion?"

_Azrael was an Angel. He himself was incorruptible, but his kind sought a way to wage war on Hell without the interference of the Angel of Death. _

A pulse of white light, not an explosion but a portal, bloomed into life over Azrael. Another Angel, this one with white-feathered wings and shimmering silver armour, landed before the Undertaker. _Gabriel, the leader of the Angel armies, and Azrael's closest friend. He tampered with the magic of Soulrend, and used it to kill Azrael, breaking the line of succession._

Undertaker, Soulrend in hand, attacked Gabriel as Angel soldiers invaded the Dark Angel valley through various white portals. There were fairly few attackers, likely taking Gabriel's orders as conspirators. The Undertaker and Gabriel fought with unearthly ferocity, for hours until the sun set, and by that haunting orange light, the Undertaker disarmed Gabriel and impaled him with Soulrend.

_The true power of our sword lies in the soul. Used properly, it can strike and weaken a soul directly, and with enough damage, the soul will tear completely free, absorbed by Soulrend. Anything with a soul will be spared the mutilation of the flesh, instead the creature's very life force is attacked and slain. Soulrend is not the only weapon with the power to attack souls directly, but it is the only one that can sever soul from body, and kill by doing so. I took Gabriel's soul that day, and felt myself grow stronger through the sword. But it avenged nothing. Azrael is dead. I am the last Angel of Death._

X

The vision faded, and Mark woke, gasping for breath on the floor. AJ was a few feet away, moaning in pain and clutching her head. "oh, dear God, not now…"

"what is it?"

"my telepathy. I used too much on Hunter, I induced pain directly. Now I'm paying for it."

"so you're telepathic?""I'm pretty good at it…" AJ stopped to groan. "I have to increase my activity slowly, though, or I pass out from pain in my own head. I've never even tried to generate pain before. Apparently it's just barely beyond my abilities. The last time I went too far, I passed out, and that's how it usually goes. This time my body could handle it, so I'm close to building up enough of a resistance."

"you want some ice or something?"

"it wouldn't help, but thanks anyway."

"so you're sure this is safe? You don't have some kind of tumour or stroke or anything?"

"yeah, I made sure to check that out the first time. It's just… feedback, like with a microphone. I use my power too much, and it bounces back and hits me in the face." Mark stood, and extended a hand to AJ, who shook her head. "no, just let me wait this one out."

"yeah, alright." Mark looked around, shrugged, and went for a beer. Just outside the door, however, was Randy Orton, wielding an AK-47.

"we got trouble. You ready to do that Grim Reaper thing?"

Mark responded by transforming into the Undertaker in a plume of black smoke.

Meanwhile, Kane was busy venting his rage on a well-recovered Brock Lesnar. He had total command of fire, as Brock used the ground beneath their feet to his advantage. True enough, Lesnar was formidable, but he was no match for Kane…

_People like your parents. People like your brother._

Kane shook the thought from his mind. He had seen his mother and father's remains, and there had been nothing left of Mark. For a brief time, Kane had believed there was a chance, but he had seen Mark burning, seen him surrounded by flames, which Kane had conjured for amusement, and let go for just one fateful moment…

Kane was sent flying by a boulder the size of a car, immediately replaced by the Undertaker, who blasted Lesnar with so much lightning that Kane could smell the electricity in the air, even through his dazed agony. The Undertaker then went after Kane, and hauled him roughly to his feet. "you and I will settle our differences," he growled, "but I swear, if you pass out again today I will kill you and take your soul."

Kane grunted, and flicked his hair out of his eyes, which always irritated him, although he knew he would never cut it shorter than this. He shoved past Mark and went after Lesnar.

A godforsaken howl ripped through the air and sent everyone flying. It was followed by another, but this one was slightly less horrible. The old woman who strolled into the parking lot was almost completely normal-looking, except her eyes, which glowed a cold, evil blue. She screeched again, but was shot in the chest by AJ, and her scream became that of a normal person. She stumbled backward, clutching her wounded stomach, as AJ pressed forward, still firing Dark Angel bullets into the banshee. Bleeding, terrified and weakened, it fled, leaving AJ to reload her weapon and sit on a chunk of asphalt, clutching her head.

AJ had seen Kane's childhood memories, had seen the young Mark Calaway boxed in by flames, choking on smoke and losing his grip on life. There was no chance he could have survived…

And yet, what exactly did they know of Taker's family? AJ hadn't even heard his last name yet. She would have read his mind for it, but she didn't know where he was. She had to know where a person was in order to read their mind.

Mark was busy contending with Mark Henry, knowing he only had minutes until sunrise and he lost most of his power. Henry, however, was staying out of Soulrend's reach, and his lightning had little effect. As the first rays of sunlight hit Mark, his robes turned to smoke, replaced by normal clothing, but Soulrend remained. It suddenly became heavy, and Mark knew his stalemate with Henry had come to an end. The big man pushed Soulrend aside and punched Mark in the gut. Mark Calaway was not a small man, but Henry's powers revolved entirely around brawn. It was no shock that he fell to his knees, at Mark Henry's mercy.

A sledgehammer, swung with tremendous force, hit Henry in the face, saving Mark from certain death. Triple H swung the hammer again at the still-standing Henry, and this time his weapon ignited with blue flame. Triple H took Mark Henry's next punch to the skull, and Henry yelped, jumping back and clutching his broken hand. "what the fuck!" he roared, as Triple H raised the hammer for a third swing. He was the batter, and Henry was the ball that was sent flying halfway across town.

Calaway let Soulrend dissolve into smoke, now knowing he could summon it under daylight. "you're welcome," Hunter muttered, and slung his hammer over his shoulder, walking away before Mark could thank him, which he had planned to do.

X

Paul Bearer watched Mark Henry and Vickie Guerrero stumble into the room, bruised and bleeding. "Lesnar's been captured. We can't take these guys without backup," Henry muttered dismally.

"shh…" Bearer stood over the hospital bed where Dave Batista lay comatose while his healing powers went into overdrive. "he awakes…"

Batista's arms shot into the air, and he kipped-up, tearing the IV drip and heart monitor wires from his skin. He looked around, tense and frantic, ready to kill them all. "Dave, Jesus. Relax, man, it's going to be alright." Henry took a step back as Batista relaxed his stance and lowered his fists. This man was not Dave Batista, this man was a force of destruction.

"where's that ninja bitch that shot me in the head?" he growled.

"we cannot reach her until those around her fall…"

Batista punched Bearer in the face. "where the fuck is she?"

"Hunter's base!" Bearer whimpered in terror.

This seemed to satisfy Batista, who refrained from punching the former Mayor Glenn a second time. "where's Lesnar?" he asked, peacefully.

"they got him in a cage somewhere." Henry flinched as Batista turned to him, and then the Animal shoved past him, sending him flying. He was ready to hunt.


	4. Calaway

Mark had abandoned his persona of terrifying inhumanity, and was now relaxed among the fellow members of Evolution. He, Hunter, and Randy Orton all had a beer in hand, and were watching The Good, The Bad and The Ugly on Hunter's flatscreen TV. There was still a gaping hole in the wall to their right, where Kane had been thrown through it four days ago.

"if you're gonna shoot, shoot, don't talk," muttered a gunslinger on the screen by the name of Tuco. He had been taking a bath when an outlaw walked in and held him at gunpoint, attempting to capture Tuco for the $3000 bounty on his head. Tuco simply shot the man with a revolver he had under the water, which had been impossible in real life, but hey, it was a 60's western.

"that's a badass line," Hunter remarked. "best one in the movie, if you ask me."

"nobody asked you," Mark replied gruffly. "Clint's character kicks the crap out of Tuco anyway."

"oh yeah? Give me one Blondie line that tops Tuco's line.""Blondie doesn't trash talk, he just shoots people. Kinda backs up Tuco's line, but that's the point. They're words to live by. Dirty Harry's got all the one-liners."

Hunter nodded ambiguously and downed what remained of his beer. CM Punk slumped into another seat, with a can of Pepsi. "you weren't kidding about that straightedge thing, huh?"

"nope," Punk replied. He chugged half the can and wiped his bearded chin. "if I stay sober, I actually remember watching the movie."

"huh. Never thought of it like that." Mark finished his beer, still feeling as sober as Punk, and leaned back in his chair, arms behind his head. "so what's the story with you and AJ?"

"we went out a few years ago, I helped her out while she was discovering her powers."

"you got any powers?" Mark asked.

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't." Phil Brooks then demonstrated his power with the remaining half-can of Pepsi, raising the liquid out of the can, arcing it into several loops, and letting it return to the can. "telekinesis. I can only do it with liquids, though."

X

Kane, meanwhile, was in his bedroom, surrounded by darkness except for the candle-sized flame dancing on his right index finger. He lay, relaxed on a bed that was far more comfortable than any he had experienced in his life, mostly because he had spent the past twenty years in a cell where the only padding was on the walls. "Paul Bearer…" he whispered idly to himself. "coward…"

Bearer, Kane's biological father, had been studying him for twenty years, attempting to replicate his demonic fire. He had failed, even with the torture he had out Kane through, and now, Kane was free to take revenge for that torture.

_Kane. _What was this? Not the voice that usually whispered in his mind. _Oh, damn it, Jake, open the door. Please?_

It was AJ. She had actually sought him out, and was asking him to open the door that led into his own little slice of Hell. "why are you here?"

"please, Jake, it's important."

"if you stop calling me that, I'll let you in."

"deal. Hurry up." Kane sat up and reached for his mask, but AJ glimpsed into his mind, and added, "don't put the mask on. You can't hide anything from me anyway."

Kane kept the mask in his hand, and unlocked the door, quickly turning away as AJ opened it and stepped into the darkness. "what's so damned important?""your birth name. it's Jacob Calaway, isn't it?"

"you already know that. Why ask?"

"look at me, Jake."

"we had a deal."

"your name isn't Kane, it's Jake, now look at me!"

Kane slowly turned, and faced the woman who was easily a foot and a half shorter than him. AJ was certainly intriguing. Whereas people with enormous power, like Hunter and the Undertaker, were wary to anger him, AJ showed no fear, and actually seemed to be challenging him. Did she believe that he was too much of a gentleman to harm her? No, she had seen his mind. Then what made her so confident?

"your brother Mark. He was nine when he died, and you were six, right?"

"yes…" Kane looked down at his mask, desperate to put it on.

"that would make him Mark Calaway, age twenty-nine now, if he were alive." Kane had had enough, and brought the mask up to his face. "no, don't." AJ gently grabbed his wrist.

"why aren't you afraid of me?" Kane asked, almost whining in frustration.

AJ released his wrist, but he made no further attempt to put the mask on. "because I trust you," she said simply.

"and why are you asking me all these questions?"

"because…" AJ glanced around for a moment, trying to think of the proper words. "because I think Mark Calaway is alive. I know how I can prove it."

Kane lowered the hand holding the mask, and tossed it onto his bed. "my brother is dead, along with the rest of my family."

"I can prove you wrong." AJ walked past Kane and sat on the edge of his bed. "just hear me out."

"I can't seem to get you out of here anyway," Kane growled, and sat next to her.

"I'll make you a deal, Kane. Come downstairs with me, without your mask, for just a few minutes, and let me call you Jake just once. If I'm right, you have to talk to Mark, and I get to call you Jake."

"and if you're wrong?"

"set me on fire if you want, but I don't really think that's your thing."Kane smirked darkly. "it brings back too many bad memories." he had a brief flashback to his home and family burning.

"well, do we have a deal?""if you're wrong, you can't call me Jake ever again." Kane extended his hand to AJ, who shook it, smiling victoriously.

She led him downstairs, and into Hunter's home theatre. "why are we coming down here?" he asked, puzzled.

"because Mark's here," she replied. She pushed open the door, noticing the final Mexican standoff between the three titular gunslingers of the movie. Kane looked around at the spectators. There were Hunter, Edge, Orton, Punk, and the Undertaker. Cena and Shawn Michaels were absent. Kane only assumed that the man AJ believed to be Mark was also missing. This assumption was blown when AJ opened the fridge, and asked calmly, "hey, Jake, you want a drink?"

Kane froze, and he wasn't the only one. The most notable reaction was that of the Undertaker, who actually turned to look at Kane. Their eyes locked, the Undertaker's were wide with surprise, Kane's narrow with defiance, as if saying, "so what? My birth name is Jake. I highly doubt yours is Undertaker."

As this thought ran through Kane's mind, it immediately exploded into an incredible new thought. _The Undertaker is the one AJ thinks is Mark._

"I'll have what he's having," Kane muttered, and gestured limply to Undertaker's beer.

"okay," AJ replied, and grabbed another Budweiser, plus a Coke for herself. Having known CM Punk for years, she had joined the straightedge movement long ago. She handed the cold beer to Kane, who took a swig, and immediately choked on it, coughing. It was his first drink.

"you people drink this stuff? And I thought I was twisted!"

"lemme guess, first beer?" Hunter laughed.

"hey, Mark?" AJ began.

"yeah?" the Undertaker replied.

Kane set down his beer and watched the conversation continue. "so you're, what, twenty-nine?"

"and a half."

"and your last name? I'm just curious, is all."

"Calaway. But you knew that already, didn't you?"

Kane got up and walked away, back to his room, his mask, all that he perceived as safe, while AJ replied, "Jake didn't."

"Jake…" Mark realized what AJ had realized. "oh, God. They told me he was dead!" Mark got up and ran after Kane, while AJ shrugged at the looks of puzzlement from the others.

X

Kane put the mask on just before Mark kicked his door down. He spun to face his older brother, hands alight with flame, but Mark drew Soulrend, and tossed it aside. "Kane. Our mother's middle name."

Kane nodded to the door, and mumbled, "I still needed that door."

"I'll pay for it."

Kane grunted. Normally, such a reunion would be joyous, but there was still the matter of the Angel of Death, and Kane's inner demon, which even now were raging against each other. "how did you survive?" Kane asked.

"I ran right through the flames. You?"

"I walked through them.""so you were always able to do the fire thing.""yeah. Funny, AJ said the same thing to me a few days ago. When we fought.""when I threw my little brother through a wall.""do I look little to you?"

"ah, forget I said that. What matters is we each have a brother now. We have some catching up to do."

"you didn't miss much. I was locked in a padded cell for twenty years, with voices in my head showing me visions of Hell, and Paul Bearer tormenting me to try and rip my powers from my body."

"Bearer? He experimented on you?"

"like a lab rat." Kane slumped onto his bed. "I bet AJ that if you were Mark, which you are, then I'd let her call me Jake."

"you gonna let her?"

"what am I gonna do, Mark? Kill her for using my real name? Besides, she won the bet, and she showed me I still have a family."

"as long as she doesn't call you Jake in front of anyone intimidating, you're fine. Kane's a whole hell of a lot scarier than Jake."

"that's not why I use it. I use it because the demons call me Kane."

"demons? Damn, I did miss a lot."

"so what happened with you?"

"I lived a normal life until a few weeks ago, when the reactor went off. I worked there, but I was at home when it exploded."

"and what of the Angel of Death?"

"he chose me as a host that very night."

X

Twenty Years Prior

Jacob lay stretched out on a dull green couch, watching tiny flames dance along his fingers. He was alone in the living room of the Calaway household, and this was when he felt most safe. Only he and Uncle Paul knew about the flames. Jake didn't know what his mom and dad would say, but Mark, he knew, would understand. He wouldn't be scared of a six-year-old, even if that six-year-old could set him on fire. Mark wasn't afraid of anything.

Jake clenched a fist to extinguish the flames, and mused on how he had kept his power a secret for almost a year. How long could he keep from slipping up? If his family caught him in the act, he would be condemned. At least if he told them outright, they might not panic. Jake, as usual, decided these thoughts and decisions were too grim for his young mind, and began to doze on the couch.

Paul, meanwhile, heard the flames crackling, and the whoosh as they went out. He scribbled on a scroll of old, yellowed paper, with ancient runes from the Demon World. He knew it had to be now, while the boy was asleep, and after he had used his power so recently. He would frame Jake in the boy's own mind, and the rest of the world would believe it was just an accident.

Paul fretted over the loss of his last scroll. These pieces of paper were all that allowed him to use demon magic, while Jake had it in his blood. Still, if he played his cards right, he could have Jake's power as a replacement for this one meagre scroll. He quietly, briefly, chanted over the filled scroll as he rolled it up and poured red candle wax over it, sealing it into a solid, blood-red tube. With his ancient dagger, another part of the deal he had made with the demon Abbadon, he scratched one final rune into the wax, and left his room to activate the scroll next to Jake.

Abbadon, a Demon of Darkness, had given Paul twenty scrolls, (one of which he had used to conceive Jake,) the knife, and a book of runes with which to write. Paul had very nearly exchanged his soul for these tools, but instead, Abbadon had changed the deal. Paul had become his mortal servant, and would be forced to find a way to release Abbadon into the mortal realm, or else Abbadon would devour his soul as a way to take over Paul's dead body, as a measure to ensure that the servant continued the master's mission, even in death. Abbadon was almost guaranteed to set foot on Earth now.

"Uncle Paul? What are you doing?"

Damn it, the other boy was sharp. Paul had seen how Mark behaved, constantly alert and paying attention to everything. The nine-year-old was behind him, and Paul heard the flick and click of his pocket-knife opening and closing. The boy wasn't threatening Paul, he carried the knife everywhere. Still, it unnerved Paul. Should this boy survive into adulthood, he might develop powers and become a threat…

"you shouldn't play with that thing, Mark. It's dangerous."

Mark shrugged. "if you say so… whoa!" Mark folded his knife and stepped closer to Paul, staring at Abbadon's demonic dagger. "that one's cool! Where'd you get it?"

"keep it down!" Paul suddenly realized how panicked he sounded, and added hastily, "it's a surprise."

"oh, okay…" Mark's voice dropped to a whisper. "so it's a gift?"

Paul remembered his deal with Abbadon. "yes, a very expensive gift."

"okay, I won't tell anyone." Mark walked back to his bedroom, and resumed playing with his pocket-knife.

Paul grinned evilly as he resumed his trip to the living room nearby.

Jake was snoring quietly. Paul's grin widened at this confirmation the boy was asleep. He gently set the scroll and dagger on Jake's chest, and paused for a moment. Any other human being would feel remorse or even give up entirely, but Paul cared for nothing but power. "incendius, pyrus, infernus, pyrhe…" the scroll caught fire, and he knew nothing would extinguish it. It was leeching Jake's power against his will, and spreading it throughout the house, creating many small fires which began to build up as Paul fled the house. Jake eventually woke in terror, seeing his home blazing around him, and realizing in terror that it was his own power that caused this horror. He stumbled to his feet and searched around, calling out to his parents, with growing desperation as they continued to not answer. He began to call for Mark too…

"Jake!" Mark answered, and Jake ran to his voice, which was choked by the thick grey smoke. He ran through the flames, but just before he could reach Mark, countless wooden beams and supports from the roof came crashing down between the two brothers.

"run, Mark!"

Mark briefly stared at his younger brother, untouched by the fire, then ran, but the flames were consuming him. His entire body was burning.

Jake, crying in terror, fled the house. He gasped through the tears and smoke, unaware that Paul and his goons were carrying him away, even as Mark's life was being saved by firefighters.

X

Present Day

"I got tattoos over the worst of the burns, but most of 'em weren't too bad." Mark, wearing a black t-shirt, pointed to the sleeve tattoo on his right arm, composed of skulls, snakes, and ironically, flames. "you can't see the last of the burns, but I think they have something to do with why everyone thinks I'm scary. I ran with a biker gang a few years back, the Wolves of Death Valley, they let me in just for looking tough. Granted, I grew to fit the image."

John Cena walked into the bar, which was just a few blocks away from Evolution's hideout. For lack of a better option, the owner had sold the bar to Evolution and used the money to flee the dystopian city. "one million, three-hundred twenty-eight thousand dollars, give or take a few hundred."

"what the hell you talkin about, John?" Mark asked, and set down his beer.

"that's the value of a Bugatti Veyron in American dollars, the fastest car in the world. It's street legal and it'll go twice as fast as an F1 race car. It just so happens that a certain Mayor Paul Glenn had one imported, and it's still in a shipping container. Now, I know your boy Kane here has a personal grudge against our esteemed mayor, and he also wrecked my Mustang in an assassination attempt that failed miserably, so he's gonna help me steal said Bugatti Veyron, and then he will swear on the blue fuzzy dice that I'm hangin on the mirror that he will never touch one of my cars again."

Kane stood, and pushed aside the bar stool. "so your plan is to use my hate for Bearer to get you a shiny new car, as payment for the one I destroyed. It seems like everyone wins. Is there a catch?"

"yeah. You gotta come up with a way to keep Bearer's thugs from following us back here." Cena jumped the counter and grabbed a can of Coke. Given that he was planning to steal the fastest car in the world, now wasn't a good time to drink.

Cena choked on his drink, coughing, when he heard the explosion nearby. All three of them ran out of the bar and looked down the road to the condemned apartment building that served as their base. Hunter, through his wealth and influence, kept the building marked as "condemned," but never destroyed.

Batista had just thrown an eighteen-wheeler through the side of the building, and was now looking around for something else to throw. "it's daylight, I don't think I can take him," Mark said worriedly.

"I'll handle this," Kane said, and lit his arms ablaze. He had taken to wearing a muscle shirt to give the full effect of his arms being on fire. "while I deal with him, you two make sure everyone's okay." Kane threw a fireball into Batista's face as he picked up a car to throw. Instead of aiming it at the building, Batista threw the car at Kane, who incinerated it to a puddle of molten metal before it reached him. Kane returned fire, surrounding Batista with a cocoon of flames.

While Batista tried to break through his containment, Mark and Cena searched the hideout, and evacuated everyone. They headed out a back door, all carrying any weapons they would need. When they saw Kane fighting a losing battle to a seemingly invincible Batista, their reactions varied. Punk joined the battle immediately, using the liquefied remains of the car as a weapon for his telekinesis. AJ began firing her weapons at the Animal. It was Hunter in particular who did the most damage, swinging his sledgehammer with all the force of a bullet train, however, he paid the heaviest price. Batista swatted him into the side of the hideout, straight through the wall and into a pile of freshly shattered concrete.

Mark aimed lightning bolts at Batista, but these had little effect. Under sunlight, he was unable to access the full power of the Angel of Death.

Batista shook off Punk's assault with lava, and punched Kane in the gut, interrupting the stream of flames which battered him. Kane, however, grabbed Batista's wrist and swung him into a nearby car. Kane's entire body caught fire, and twin wings made entirely of flame sprouted from his back. Horn-like spikes of fire crowned his head, and he roared, breathing fire. A tremendous gust of wind rushed through the street, carrying a mix of ash and smoke with it, an unholy parody of a blizzard that blackened the sky and filled the air with the scent of brimstone.

Mark looked up at where the sun had been, and transformed into the Angel of Death, black wings spread like Kane's. he drew Soulrend and launched lightning bolts which had increased in power tenfold from what he could generate as a human. As Kane's flames finally began to burn the otherwise unharmed Batista, the Undertaker raised his sword against a terrified foe. He cleaved soul from flesh with a swing that would normally have torn head from neck. Batista's soul was absorbed by Soulrend and fed into Mark's body, while Kane snarled, the sole source of light in the blackened storm. He and the Undertaker circled each other. Jacob and Mark Calaway had lost control of their bodies, taken over by their demon and Dark Angel counterparts, who were hell-bent on destroying each other.

The rest of Evolution took cover inside as Kane and the Undertaker fought. Hunter was still unconscious under a pile of rubble, but the others were fully awake and panicked. "and I really thought the old grudges were settled," Punk muttered as he looked for a weapon. He picked up an AK-47 and headed for the door.

"Jesus, Phil, are you gonna try and kill them?" AJ blocked him. "they'll rip you bits!"

"you got a better idea?"

AJ looked back to the door. "actually, I do." she said, and opened the door before sitting cross-legged in front of it. She forced her way first into Mark's mind, occupied by the Undertaker, and caught a glimpse of the Angel of Death's motives. The demon controlling Kane had committed the crime of instigating a battle between angels and demons roughly seventy years ago. She found Mark's consciousness deep in his mind, and connected her thoughts to his. Then, she navigated past Kane's demon and found Jake's thoughts. By connecting her thoughts to theirs, she allowed them to combine their mental power, and take control of their bodies back, first Mark, then Kane, by fighting as three minds against one opponent twice. The resulting ceasefire was strained and dangerous, but as AJ withdrew her mind, she saw to her relief that both Mark and Kane transformed back into humans. She sent out her thoughts to both Mark and Kane, _the only way you guys can keep from killing each other is if you sign a pact that'll be forced on your hosts. Mark, you'll promise not to kill Kane, and Kane will promise never to violate whatever laws set the Undertaker off. _

_X_

_Two days later, the accord written on a single piece of paper in both Mark and Kane's blood was locked in a metal case and padlocked, with the slot of the lock melted shut. Included in the pact was a bit mentioning neither Mark nor Kane could open the case or damage the contract in any way. Although the Undertaker and Kane's unnamed host were often glaring daggers at each other, the contract seemed to be binding, and they had yet to resume fighting. Better still, Mark and Jake were recovering their ability to interact peacefully, as their hosts' grudge died away. _

_John Cena had successfully convinced Kane, Mark, and AJ to help him steal the Veyron, and the plan was set. He was behind the wheel of his Corvette, and Kane was opening the door of the Jeep he had found abandoned yesterday. It was beat-up, rusted, and old, but it could move. Mark was already on his bike, a custom chopper with most of its frame adorned with skulls and flames. AJ, too, preferred a motorcycle over a car, solely because she could better aim her weapons without worrying about the windshield. _

"_you guys all ready?" Cena asked over the headset network they shared. All three of his partners answered in the affirmative. Without waiting, Cena drove out of the garage of Evolution's hideout, into the dim light of the sunset's last moments. When the last of the sun slipped under the horizon, Mark would be ready to unleash his full power, and better yet, he wouldn't need to worry about the Undertaker taking control and waging war on Kane._

_Next Chapter: The Heist_


	5. Demons

You know what this story needs? Villains. I killed off Batista last chapter, and what's left? Mark Henry, Brock Lesnar, and Paul Bearer. Oh, and Vickie Guererro. We also need more Divas, and to quote writeswithmyblood, "maybe a love interest or two." I think I can accomplish all of that in this chapter.

X

The shipping container containing John Cena's most expensive theft ever, a Bugatti Veyron sports car, wasn't just sitting in a parking lot. No, it had to be at the top of a stack at the docks, which were guarded surprisingly heavily. Nothing the calibre of a superpowered monster, but plenty of thugs with guns. Cena knew what a thug looked like, and these guys were a far cry from rent-a-cops. "Taker, Kane, don't draw any attention yet," he said over the earpiece network, sitting behind the wheel of his purring Corvette. The lights were off, and he was invisible in the shadow of a stack of shipping containers. "we need a plan."

"fuck the plan." AJ's red motorcycle roared to life like a lion, as its headlights flared, briefly blinding the guards. She aimed her pistol at them, and flicked the barrel downward momentarily. The thugs got the message and dropped their weapons. She urged the bike forward, and growled through the voice changer in her helmet, "where's Bearer's crate?" to them, she sounded like a demon straight from Hell, not a human, much less a 95-pound girl.

"he's got two. Which one you lookin for?"

"the car," she replied, sounding as menacing as she could.

This struck the guard as odd. "it's the red one three rows over. Serial number… 507619."

"you've got the key." it wasn't a question. "you have the key," she growled, and fired off a warning shot. The weapon had a silencer, but its shot was audible, and the guard tossed her the key. "I'm coming back in five minutes. If you've so much as sneezed in that time, I'll cap you both and throw you in that container as a surprise for your boss."

Cena was laughing over the earpieces. "oh, man, I like this girl."

"don't get your hopes up, I'm taken," AJ replied once she was at the container and out of the guards' earshot.

"guys, we have a situation." the Undertaker said atop his own motorcycle, at the top of a container stack. It was close to midnight, so he could access his power at will, but this human form felt more natural on a bike. "we got contact, three more incoming."

"gimme a description," Cena answered.

"first one, about seven feet tall, leather jacket, black hood. I can't see anything other than that, but the guy's massive. Second, some goofball in a jacket with fuckin lights on it. I ain't kidding."

"the second guy uses the alias Chris Jericho. Those lights act as conduits for electrical power, kind of like yours, Taker. The other man, by the size, I'd say is Paul Wight, alias Show. You saw Mark Henry throw buses, right?"

"yeah."

"well, Show throws train cars, apparently three at a time. Who's the third one?"

"a girl. Brown hair, blue eyes, really tan. To put it bluntly, she's kinda hot."

"you're not the first guy to say that."

"you know her?"

"Eve Torres. She's got a telepathic power, a little like AJ. I once saw a guy fling himself off a skyscraper because she asked him to. All she had to do was wink, and he jumped."

"that's dark."

"yeah, she gets a kick out of it."

"she sounds like a bitch," AJ said, and giggled. "can I run her over?"

"no, just get the crate open. You don't wanna fight that chick."

"fine," AJ said glumly, and used her minimal telekinetic power to open the lock. She shook off the headache this gave her, she knew from experience that it wouldn't last long.

"I'm in. Kane, get your ass over here."

X

Kane listened in satisfaction to the scream of a burning thug, consumed by the unholy flame Kane controlled at will. And yet, although he was satisfied, something was tugging at him. This'll draw them here, and I'll go deal with the car, he thought. "I'm on my way."

"I still can't believe I'm trusting you to wheel that thing out of here," Cena muttered.

"hey, last time, I meant to crash."

"don't worry, John. I'll keep an eye on him," AJ said, and he could almost hear her smirk. Kane felt that same tug as he heard those words. Something about AJ was disturbing him. Was she using her telepathy? No, this was different. Something she had said, maybe… he reminded himself of the entire radio conversation since their arrival at the docks.

The realization hit him like a train as he rounded a corner in the maze of containers. She had said she was taken, and for some reason, he cared. He was considering asking AJ what she meant, with no regard for how jealous he might sound, when a lightning bolt struck him on the side of the head. He had felt Mark's lightning powers, and this was different. Mortal, human, maybe even mechanical. He turned to face Jericho and set him on fire with only a thought. "alright, they're on to us, everyone clear out!" Kane growled as he and Jericho ran in completely different directions. He skidded slightly when he stopped in front of the only open container. There was AJ, her bike, and the Veyron. He went to open the door of the Veyron, which glistened black in the headlights of AJ's motorcycle.

All his thoughts were completely obliterated by a thundering telepathic message AJ sent into his mind. "I mentioned I was taken." when the haze over his eyes cleared, and the ringing in his ears stopped, he realized AJ's arms were wrapped around his neck, her legs around his waist, and she was looking at him at eye level, with a dazzling smile. She pressed her chest into his and kissed him, with no regard to the warning Mark gave that Show was closing in. A thought occurred to AJ, and she lowered her head, letting her chocolate-brown hair tumble down over her face, flashing only the white of her teeth through the brown curtain. "was that your first kiss?" she asked.

The others realized what was going on in the container when they heard this, and Cena roared, "get your asses out of there! Bearer's biggest gun is making a beeline for you, and my new car!"

Kane and AJ snapped back to reality, and she slid down off of him. Without a word, AJ mounted her bike and gunned the engine as Kane jumped behind the wheel of the fastest car on earth. Show was left in the dust once they got out of the container, roaring in fury.

Eve put a hand on his shoulder, immediately using her powers to stop Show from destroying most of the containers in rage. "the car doesn't matter. We're here for the other crate."

"but they got away," he growled.

"think of it this way, we scared 'em off. This means we can work in peace here."

Eve flipped open her cell phone, and called Jericho, who answered in a shaky voice, "did we get 'em?"

"they had the wrong crate, but they got away with some stupid car."

"a car? Bearer didn't strike me as a car collector." there was silence on Jericho's end. "what was the serial number?"

"507619."

"five-oh-seven… yeah, you're south of me… six-one-nine. Holy shit, a Bugatti Veyron! Oh, now I get it. Cena wants that car for his collection, and Bearer was handing it out as payment. That car's worth well over a million dollars, so it's obviously a serious buyer, and I can only think of one guy who likes cars that much."

X

"what the hell do you mean, it was stolen?"

"it was stolen, by the same people I hired you to kill," Bearer said, and stood. He knew the limits of this man's temper, and was confident he wouldn't be ripped limb from limb. "you want it, you'll have to go kill Cena for it."

"eh. John Cena, I've dealt with him before. El es un perro." Alberto Del Rio relaxed his stance, and added, "I'll have him dead by next week. Who else is there?"

"Triple H is the leader. He's got Punk, Michaels, Orton, and Edge as I told you, but there's new targets."

"new targets means more money," Del Rio growled.

"they won't be easy. One's got powers from the Dark Angel realm, he's probably your biggest threat. Then there's a girl, AJ Lee. You need to take her seriously, she nearly killed Batista. The third, I want brought back alive."

"I don't do alive."

"you do now. His name's Jacob Calaway, uses the alias Kane, wears a red mask. You bring him to me alive, and I'll pay you an additional three million. Dead, and I deduct two million."

"merda. I don't do alive," he repeated.

"then you don't do the contract," Bearer said with as much menace as he could.

Del Rio considered this, and said dismally, "fine. I'll bring you this Kane, alive. But after this, no more 'alive' contracts. I kill people, it's my job. I'm not a kidnapper, I'm an assassin."

"three million, Alberto. It's worth your while." Bearer's cell phone rang. "oh, fuck. This call is important, and private. Get out of here." Del Rio growled, but left. Bearer answered it, "my lord Abbadon, I still seek a body for you. Only one mortal in my service shows compatibility, and he refuses…"

"I am disappointed, thrall. None refuse me." Abbadon's voice echoed, and flame crackled in the background. "who among your pets dares deny me what is mine?"

X

Kane sighed, turning his mask over in his hands. AJ was watching, seated comfortably on the edge of his bed, awaiting his reaction. "I'm a seven foot tall freak who sets people on fire for fun. A lot of people, myself included, would call me a monster. I don't do relationships."

"how the hell would you know? I hate to reopen old wounds, but you've spent most of your life in a padded cell."

"precisely why I'm not boyfriend material," Kane replied.

"I'll make you a bet, Jake," she said, reminding him of how their last bet went.

"no, I'll make you a bet." Kane held up his mask. "I bet this mask that even if I set this room on fire, you won't leave, because you're completely deranged, and that's coming from me. You'll just sit there and burn to death."

"yeah? I bet everything I'm wearing that you won't do it." Kane was silent, he put his mask on to cover the fact he was blushing like a kid with a crush. "if you were gonna kill me, you'd have done it by now. Face it, the only problem with us dating is the height difference. I have to climb you like a tree to kiss you. I'm telepathic, Jake. I don't even have to read your mind to read you like a book. See, when a person wants their thoughts to be heard, they sort of broadcast them. There's no invasion of privacy, you're telegraphing it all to me." AJ paused, and grinned. "right now, you're telling me you want another kiss."

AJ stood, but Kane said, "stop it for a minute. Look, it's two in the morning, and I'd like to use this bed. You don't have to be telepathic to know I mean sleep. Plus, I've been having nightmares. When I wake up, I set things on fire, and it's not pretty." Kane nodded to the burn marks dotting the walls. "we can talk in the morning."

"wait a minute, nightmares? You?" AJ considered laughing, but stopped herself. "I think I can fix that with telepathy. Come on, sit down."

"why?"

"because you're too damn tall otherwise. Get down here." Kane sat, and AJ put her hands on his temples.

"the shrinks would tell me it was something worrying me when I'm awake."

"the dieticians would ask if you've been eating chocolate before bed. It's neither." AJ worked her thoughts into Kane's, and asked, "what's this nightmare about?"

"darkness. I'm not afraid of the dark, but something's always hiding in that dream, something capable of destroying me."

"it's repetitive, then. Hold on, you might feel a slight pinch." AJ found the nightmare in his memories, and tried to remove it, but two immensely powerful forces shoved her out of his mind. One, she recognized as the demon possessing Kane, the other was much worse. These two demons seemed to be fighting in his mind. "uh, is it okay with you if I get Mark?"

"what's going on?"

"I honestly don't know. Mark won't either, but the Undertaker might. All I know is, it looks like demon stuff. Sort of outside my comfort zone."

X

Brock Lesnar struggled furiously against Mark Henry and Show, but to no avail, they were vastly stronger than him. Eve could have easily calmed him, but she was sadistic, and found his terror amusing. Overhead, the full moon lit a chilling scene. Brock was shackled to the ground, in the middle of a makeshift pentagram of cables connecting five storage containers. These five containers were doused in gasoline and ignited. The wind immediately began to pick up speed, and was a roaring tempest in seconds.

Paul Bearer raised the now ancient and dull dagger that Abbadon had given him thirty years ago. "my lord Abbadon, tonight I fulfill my end of our contract! Tonight I give you your avatar!"

Lesnar tried to tear the ground to pieces with his power, but it was too late. Bearer stumbled over the shaking, ripping ground, and stabbed Lesnar through the heart.

The flaming containers went out. The moon was obscured by smoke from those containers. Mark Henry's and Show's flashlights exploded. The Demon of Darkness had arrived.


	6. Cataclysm

A/N: June 30, 2012, 1:05 pm, that's the time. I didn't expect to write at all today, my birthday, but inspiration punched me in the face.

X

Brock Lesnar was no more, and in his place was Abbadon. In a ghostly, distorted voice completely different from Lesnar's, Abbadon spoke. "you have fulfilled our contract, Bearer. However…" Abbadon's voice was echoing before it left his throat. "I am curious. What will you do now?"

"what do you mean, master?"

"our deal is complete, and now all your servants have a choice. You, or me. You leave here tonight with your soul, but nothing else." Bearer took a step back, still clutching the knife wet with Lesnar's blood. "yes, now you see. Death Valley is mine."

X

Kane, AJ, and the Undertaker, minds all connected, were in shock when the demon attempting to possess Kane simply disappeared. This left three other minds, being Undertaker, Kane, and AJ, still thinking as one, until AJ turned off her power, separating them. She sighed, and said, "it'll come back, won't it?"

To her surprise, the Undertaker responded, "no. It only left because it didn't need Kane any more." he cracked his neck, or rather, Mark's neck. The human owner of said neck had allowed Undertaker to take full control in order to help Kane. It was three in the morning, and the sun wouldn't come up for several hours, leaving the Angel of Death at the peak of his power. "it was powerful. A demon of darkness, and it needed a host to enter your world, which is troubling. The stronger a demon is, the more difficulty it has escaping Hell."

"you think you know who it is," AJ said dismally, having read the transmitted thoughts that only she could detect. "someone named Abbadon?"

"it's the darkness that convinces me. Abbadon thrives in darkness, like I do, and he's escaped Hell only twice before. The first time, I was still training to become the Angel of Death, and Abbadon attacked the Dark Angel realm. I didn't stand a chance, but my predecessor, Scorpion, managed to banish him. The second time, he reached Earth."

"where? When?"

"I've heard it was covered up as a nuclear bomb test, the only one India ever did, or rather, claimed to have done. Scorpion destroyed his and Abbadon's mortal forms in the blast. The difference between them was that Abbadon survived, and went back to Hell. Scorpion died." the Undertaker's robes turned to smoke, revealing the faded jeans and leather jacket that Mark Calaway had been wearing underneath.

"Mark, that's you in there, right?"

"yeah, it's me." Mark scratched the back of his head, ruffling his long hair. It had been the first time Mark had voluntarily surrendered control of his body to the Undertaker. "what'd he do?"

"he chased off some demon trying to possess Kane. Someone named Abbadon."

Kane, still sitting on the edge of his bed, reached for his mask. "I'm gonna go set something on fire."

"can I come?"

Kane looked at AJ in surprise. "I don't know. Can you?"

"I've got telekinesis, and fire's really easy to move around. If you give me something to start with, I can do pyrokinesis, yeah."

This plan was wiped out as every source of light in the room went out, along with everywhere else in Evolution's hideout. The light bulbs briefly flashed again with sparks as they exploded, then darkness consumed them again. There was a whoosh of wind and cloth as Mark transformed again, and the rasp of steel on steel as Soulrend left its sheath. "it's him. Abbadon."

Kane summoned fire to relight the room, and let AJ take a six-inch ball of fire from him. "we need to get outside, where I can transform too."

The Undertaker remembered the incredible fire power that Kane could wreath himself in, when his mind fused with that of the possessing, nameless demon within him. He nearly doubled in size, and the ground boiled beneath him.

Suddenly, a massive explosion sent them all flying, and destroyed most of Evolution's hideout.

X

Kane woke, and immediately sprang to his feet. He had been thrown a few buildings away, and was met instantly with a vicious attack from both Mark Henry and Chris Jericho. Henry could overpower him physically, but he had nothing to counter Kane's fire, and Jericho's weak lightning couldn't compare. When he unleashed his demonic form, a huge, winged monstrosity made mostly of flame and lava, the two assailants stood no chance.

A young woman began to hum somewhere, behind some wall. The sweet tune echoed throughout the entire floor of the building, meaning he couldn't locate her. She laughed, and it wasn't AJ laughing. This was an evil, sadistic cackle, which was fine by Kane. He could match sadistic. He laughed back, deeply and ominously, as he looked around. He was high up in a building, perhaps a hotel room, judging by the furniture, and the swimming pool far below. He had smashed through a full-wall window, and his fire had blackened most of the room's décor and walls.

His laugh seemed to unsettle the woman, or so he thought, until Eve emerged round a corner, and Kane froze, immobilized. Her thoughts blasted into his, much darker and more forceful than AJ's. "one kiss is all it takes. You'll be a mindless zombie under my control, until one of us dies." she strolled closer, calmly, leisurely, and forced Kane to his knees. "one kiss." she looked up, past Kane, and her eyes widened as she saw AJ, standing behind him, and wielding a rather large frying pan, presumably from the kitchen. Her clothes were slightly burnt from the explosion, but otherwise she was unharmed, and she was actually smirking back at Eve.

"kiss this, bitch." she leapt over Kane, no small feat, and whipped the frying pan into Eve's face, nearly knocking her unconscious. As it was, she easily broke Eve's hold on Kane. AJ dropped the pan and looked around for something similarly weighted. A fire axe would have been perfect, but there obviously weren't fire axes just hanging on hotel room walls. Eve, however, punched her in the jaw and grabbed her by the throat. She turned to Kane, and froze him with telepathy again, but when she turned back to AJ, she was met with a rock solid headbutt and a wave of telekinetic energy. AJ briefly clutched her head, as Eve caught herself from falling out the smashed window. As Eve tried to move away from the window, AJ weighed her chances of surviving another telekinetic blast. It was likely she would at least pass out from the effort, and Eve was already too far from the window, so in an act of desperation, she charged.

Kane and Eve were both consumed with disbelief as the two women flew out the broken window, and fell eight stories.

They tumbled around each other as they fell, and AJ saw the pool below them. If Eve landed in it, she might be able to affect Kane from such a distance, and AJ was already weak from both the fistfight and the overuse of her telekinesis. With no regard for passing out this time, she used her power to fling herself and Eve apart, with Eve flying outward over the concrete floor around the pool, while AJ folded her arms to her chest and prayed the pool was deep enough.

As she passed out, AJ bobbed to the surface, bruised but not broken. She had survived.

X

"AJ!" the voice was distant and soft, although from the tone, she knew he was practically screaming. "come on, don't die now!" Her eyes opened, and she looked up at her rescuer weakly. Kane, like her, was soaking wet. He might well have dove directly from the window. "thank God. Can you hear me alright?"

She was stretched out over his lap, the water still quivering from both her and his impact. Beyond that, Eve lay crumpled in a puddle of blood, almost certainly dead. Her head was pounding worse than it ever had before, and her nose would start to bleed soon, but she refrained from saying any of that. "yeah, I hear you." She tried to sit up, but lowered herself when the pain increased tenfold. "oh, holy shit…" she groaned, and reclined back over his leg. "she's dead, right?"

"she looks pretty dead."

AJ looked up into the bi-coloured eyes of Jacob Calaway, not Kane. This was close to what Jake might have been if he hadn't been locked up since he was six, and he was devoid of a mask. True, the marks of Paul Bearer's torture were written on his face, and the light in his eyes was dimmed by two decades of despair, but this was Jacob, and they both knew it. "you jumped, didn't you?" she asked.

"I thought you were going to drown." he would have looked down, but he already was, and was met with AJ's deep brown eyes. Looking up would have shown him the battered body of Eve Torres. He never even considered the left and right, he was already mesmerized by AJ's quick recovery, and the white teeth flashing through her smile.

"monsters don't save lives. That's hero territory."

For the second time, AJ kissed him, and this time, he kissed her back. Her lips tasted sweet with the faint hint of strawberry lip gloss, almost washed away with the water of the pool, which added a taste of chlorine, and of course there was the soft salty taste of her skin and lips themselves. Despite the intensity of her headache, AJ leaned upward to the kiss, and they enjoyed this brief moment of love surrounded by fiery hate.

X

A good example of said hate would have been the wreckage of Evolution's club. Hunter awoke, the nearest to his home. Show seemed to have thrown a fuel truck into the side of the building, which Hunter assumed had been laced with explosives. Fortunately, Hunter still had his badly burnt sledgehammer, and met the giant head-on. The metal weapon slammed into Show's skull, knocking him back a step, and on the second swing, the blue fire Hunter wielded with it burst into life. Show dodged the swing, and punched Hunter in the jaw, sending him reeling, but not knocking him out. Even more incredible, Show's hand crunched on impact, and Hunter turned back to face Show with a look of fury, not pain.

They continued wailing on each other until John Cena's Corvette screamed its way around a corner. Cena himself was firing an Uzi at Show, until the clip ran out, and a golden beam of light pierced his chest, descending from the crumbling roof of the building that had once been Evolution's hideout. Cena slumped over the steering wheel, and the Corvette careened off the road and into a building. There was no explosion, nor did the building cave in, so Hunter clung to the hope that Cena might have survived, but had to flee from Show and the new attacker.

Atop the building, Alberto Del Rio smirked, satisfied with his handiwork. He had heard that Paul Glenn had been replaced by Abbadon as head of the Ministry, and the once-mighty mob boss was reduced to a homeless dog. This meant that the assassination contracts were off, but Alberto had wanted to finish Cena, as payback for their various encounters beforehand, and the stolen Veyron.

Del Rio looked to his right, and a few doors down, he saw two young women fall out an already broken window, tangled together and clearly trying to kill each other. One, perhaps, might have been AJ Lee, another of Bearer's contracts, not that it mattered. The other, however, was Eve. This interested him, so he began to head toward the spot where both her and AJ were likely pancaked on the ground, but Show called, "hey, Alberto! Don't you wanna come deal with the rest of 'em? That's millions in your pocket!"

"the kills are off, idiot. Bearer's been dethroned, meaning there's no one to pay me."

"suit yourself, more fun for me…" Show never got the chance to head inside, because he was struck by a lightning bolt that sent him skidding down the road on his back, clothes set aflame. The thunderclap alone scared Del Rio into running from the Undertaker. He headed toward where Eve had fell, and found her at the edge of a swimming pool. He noticed AJ and a young man kissing across the pool, until they turned to him. The man, likely Kane, lit his hand with flame, and Del Rio wreathed his hand in golden light, but they refrained from killing each other. After a few moments, Del Rio stooped and picked up Eve, who was completely limp in his arms. She was alive, but barely, her heart pounding, her breath shallow and ragged. Countless bones were broken, and she seemed comatose. Del Rio glared at Kane, and AJ, who was likely responsible for Eve's state, but outnumbered, he left in peace, carrying Eve.

X

Undertaker was in control of Mark's body as he carried John Cena through the half-destroyed hideout. Cena coughed blood. "Del Rio. Son of a bitch always hits you when you least expect it."

"he was likely sent to kill you."

"he might have succeeded," Cena said, and coughed again. "is anybody dead?"

"I haven't found Edge or Michaels, but no corpses yet." he set Cena down on Hunter's couch, noting the flatscreen TV had been destroyed by a collapse.

"any healing magic you could fix me up with?"

"no. you'll live, anyway." Undertaker went to the fridge and grabbed two beers, noticing the light was out in the fridge. He handed both to Cena. "drink one, keep the other on your head. Whatever you do, don't fall asleep, or you won't wake up, because you likely have a concussion from the crash. I'm going to look for Edge and Shawn."

Undertaker drew Soulrend and left without another word. His mentor, Scorpion, had sacrificed his own life to vanquish Abbadon, and that was not an option for the Undertaker. He was the last Angel of Death, and he had to survive long enough to change that, to find another way to pass Soulrend to another successor, and continue the greatest tradition of the Dark Angel race.

X

Kane retrieved his mask from the bottom of the pool, it had been torn free when he dove in to save AJ. He came up soaking, but dried himself and AJ with the heat of his fire. The Undertaker found them there, just as they went around the pool and headed back to Evolution's hideout, or what was left of it. The Undertaker nodded to the puddle of blood on the concrete.

"Eve," AJ said simply, and shrugged.

"have you seen Edge or Shawn? Everyone else is alive and accounted for."

"no, we haven't seen anyone… what the hell is that?" AJ pointed to the growing tornado of dark grey fog that was touching neither the ground nor the clouds, and heading toward them with tremendous speed.

"the Demon of Darkness has come." Undertaker raised his sword, and spread his wings of black cloth. Abbadon descended to the pavement, and it was revealed that Brock Lesnar had become his host. There was nothing left of Brock, except his likeness. Inside, his soul had been devoured and destroyed, replaced by Abbadon. "you two, generate as much light as you can. It'll weaken him, but only sunlight banishes me."

"I see Scorpion taught you well, Undertaker…" Abbadon landed, and summoned a great two-handed sword of black metal, that dripped blood along channels cut into the blade. "yet here I am, and Scorpion is no more."

As Kane burst into flame, the Undertaker charged, sword raised, and roaring with fury. Their swords clashed together, but Abbadon summoned telekinetic power to knock him back. The Undertaker leapt out of the way, and rolled sideways to his feet, then hit Abbadon with a lightning bolt. The thunderclap was deafening, and AJ fell to one knee, clutching her head. Kane, still wreathed in flame, marched forward, as his wings flared out to his sides, dripping lava. Abbadon turned to face Kane, but the Undertaker shot forward, and stabbed into Abbadon's chest. The demon roared in pain and outrage, and took off into the air. The Undertaker gave chase, not losing his grip on Soulrend. Abbadon summoned a cloud of darkness, but the Undertaker filled it with lightning. They circled each other and crossed swords, as thunder roared around them.

Already far below, AJ recovered from the crippling headache, and shivered. It was snowing, and the white torrent was getting heavier. Kane shook himself, and aimed twin steams of fire into the storm, hoping to weaken Abbadon. As the Undertaker slammed himself into Abbadon, with the two razor-sharp, unearthly weapons between them, it became clear that this was working, as Abbadon was pushed back by the Undertaker, given forward momentum by his Dark Angel wings. With a war cry, the Undertaker swept aside Abbadon's blade, and drew back Soulrend for a stab into Brock Lesnar's heart, which beat only enough to keep Abbadon's earthly body from dying and withering away. On contact with Soulrend's tip, however, Abbadon dissolved into smoke, and melted away into the blizzard.

The Undertaker beat his wings, hovering in place in the freezing storm, and sighed with relief. He had seen Scorpion's first battle with Abbadon, had seen the wreck his mentor had been afterward. The Undertaker had stood against Abbadon and won, even if he hadn't struck a killing blow, and this was immensely relieving.

X

Three Days Later

The blizzard was still raging over Death Valley, but it was weakened, and now a natural, if unusual, snowstorm. Mark Calaway looked out over the half-frozen city with worry, but not despair. Soulrend hung on his belt, but he was in a human form.

The snow blew into his face, but his eyes were shielded by sunglasses, so he faced it head-on. With the destruction of Evolution's sole refuge, they had searched around town for a new hideout, and found one in an unlikely place.

Glenn Tower, with the disappearance of Paul Bearer, had been abandoned, and Evolution had put it to good use. It was the tallest tower in Death Valley, and much studier than the old apartment building that they had been using. It had been decrepit and condemned, a skeleton of a building, but this was the beating heart of Death Valley, and was in top shape with the exception of the hole where Kane had driven a Mustang through the outer wall. This was where Kane had met AJ, where Mark had officially accepted his place as avatar of the Angel of Death, where Paul Bearer had held complete control over the city for eight years.

Shawn Michaels limped out into the snowstorm, wearing sunglasses as well. "hey, Mark, you might want to take a look at this!" he called over the howling wind, and Mark obediently followed him inside. Shawn set a manila folder on a nearby table, a flimsy wooden one that would easily break under the weight of a single person. "check this out. The feds are realizing there's survivors in here, so they contacted me, told me the cavalry's coming."

Mark opened the folder, and spread out the four files in it. "Colonel Dwayne Johnson, U.S. Marines…"

"one of us," Shawn explained, "Evolution. He gave Cena the Fruity Pebbles nickname. Apparently he's been through some shit since he left seven years ago."

"and who are these two?"

"first one is Dwayne's subordinate, Sheamus O'Shaunessy. Former IRA, moved to America about three years ago. Signed up in the Marines, showed supernatural power, and they set him up with Rocky."

"Rocky?"

"Dwayne. Anyway, after they got lumped together, more powers showed up. That's what we call people like us, with supernatural abilities. They formed a Black Ops team that's been doing missions that would be literally impossible for any normal humans. Now, these two are being sent here to help deal with Abbadon and the Ministry. The third guy, his name's Daniel Bryan, a cryokinetic and electrokinetic. He's just signed up on Abbadon's side, and from what I could dig up on him, he seems to have history with AJ, and to make a long, violent story short, they've both tried to kill each other."

"what about her?" Mark pointed to the fourth file, with a picture of a young woman with brown hair, a deep tan, and eyes so dark as to be almost black. Something clicked then, and Mark gasped. He had met her, seen her fight off seven armed bikers while drunk off her ass and empty-handed.

"she's British SAS, one of the best assassins in the world. Whatever the Brits have her doing, it's so secret that I couldn't even find her real name, just a list of about twenty aliases…"

"that's okay, I know her name. she's coming here, isn't she?"

"the UN want somebody on the inside to monitor what's going on. They're sending her to babysit us."

"somehow that doesn't surprise me."


	7. Shift

A/N: Thanks for sticking around this far. That means something.

Jake crossed his arms and looked around the walls of his room, satisfied. Tacked onto the bland grey were dozens of one-page files, all featuring a photo, a face, and a paragraph detailing these people's powers and affiliations. Some of these were past Evolution members, some were current Ministry members, most were superpowered potential recruits for either side. Anyone involved with this war, or likely to get involved, was pinned up on the wall.

Shawn Michaels, having suffered a broken leg and two ribs in the attack, was taking it easy, recovering, while Jake filled his spot. Shawn had powers, but his job wasn't to fight, he wasn't a heavy hitter. His task was more the brains of the operation, and somehow, Jake felt he was growing into the temporary role. Already, he had pinpointed Daniel Bryan's location, the route he was taking to Death Valley, and precisely where he would enter the city.

"so is it Jake, or Kane right now?"

Jake turned and saw AJ brushing her teeth behind him. "it's Jake for now. But I can't just forget the other side of who I am." he touched the red mask on the windowsill lightly. "I have two tasks I have to complete, before I can let go of Kane. I have to kill Paul Glenn, and I have to satisfy the demon in me. I have to know what he wants me to do, and do it so he'll leave."

"any ideas?"

"he might not have a specific goal. He might just want me to work on his whims."

"what if you don't?"

Jake looked down at his right hand. "he can't kill me, but he might be able to torture me, for the rest of my life, whenever I fight him. I don't think he'll do it, though."

AJ nodded. "he wants to work with you, it makes it easier for him," she mumbled through her foaming toothpaste, and sat at the edge of his bed. "have you found Bearer yet?"

"he knows I'm looking for him." Jake sat next to her. "he keeps moving around town. Anyway, look over there." Jake pointed to a cluster of files on the wall, all marked with a red circle. "those guys, they know Bearer personally. They'll back him up, if he can get word out. Even if all they can do is evacuate him from the city, it means he'll be protected from me. He'll be Paul Bearer, millionaire mob boss again, and out of my reach, like I never left my cell."

"so we won't let him escape." AJ stood, and headed back to the sink. "no one's taken the penthouse suite on the top floor yet, but I heard Hunter checked it out. It looks like Bearer's been living here, and his villa outside town is just a cover."

Jake stood up, and walked with her. "it makes sense, he wouldn't want to leave the city he rules. Still, if he was hiding the fact he lived here, it means there might be something in his room that we can use. Some record of a plan he might still try to salvage, or a contract with a thug that we don't know about."

"so it's a crime scene? Bummer." AJ leaned over the sink, and spat. "I was excited 'cause he had a huge swimming pool. On the top floor!" she gargled out the last of the toothpaste, and added, "a swimming pool saved my life last week. Kind of ironic."

"I don't think there's any evidence sitting around Paul Bearer's pool."

"so I get to use it? Sweet!" AJ paused. "oh, hold on. You just want to see me in a bikini," she added.

Jake hesitated, then smirked. "it's like you can read my mind."

X

"finally…" Colonel Dwayne Johnson said emphatically over a headset in the cockpit of an AH-64 Apache helicopter, "the Rock has come back to his family. Which means finally, the Rock has come back to Evolution. Which means FINALLY, the Rock has COME BACK… home."

"welcome back, Rocky." Triple H, still bruised and sore from his battle with Show, stood at the edge of the helicopter landing pad atop one of Glenn Tower's roofs. Despite the name, Glenn Tower, there were actually four skyscrapers in the complex. "we could use some help around here."

"yeah, I heard Fruity Pebbles got shot. The Rock don't like John, but the Rock knows he's one of the best."

"it was Del Rio. We know he's somewhere in the city."

"oy!" a third voice broke in with a heavy Irish brogue. "if Berto's here, I got dibs on crackin his skull first."

"Lieutenant O'Shaunessy, I take it," Hunter guessed. "so you know Del Rio?"

"I've kicked his arse more'n once."

The helicopter landed, and the two superpowered Marines slid open the doors. The Rock was unarmed, but Sheamus had an assault rifle, and from the way he held it, it seemed he was more than capable of using it. "oh, yeah. What the hell is going on with the weather?" Rocky waved his arms at the snowstorm in August.

Triple H muttered, "demon magic. I don't understand it much more than you do."

The Rock raised an eyebrow. The Undertaker, however, rose out of the concrete in a plume of black smoke. The two faced each other in silence until the Rock said slowly, "do you think that you scare me, big guy? Is that what you… think?"

The Undertaker made no response. If he had, the Rock would have cut him off, but without an opening, the Rock simply said, "I think…"

"it doesn't matter…" the Undertaker growled, "what you think." his black robes dissolved into ordinary clothing, revealing Mark Calaway in full biker attire. "that is, assuming you can think at all, and not just replicate a few cheesy catchphrases." it became apparent that Mark had done research on the Rock, and intended to prevent a possible verbal beatdown.

"watch yourself, son. I know about a million ways to…"

"layeth the smacketh down on my candy ass. That one gets old after a decade too. More importantly, you should be less worried about my candy ass and more worried about a lightning bolt up yours."

"hey, Hunter?" Rocky took off his sunglasses, and folded them before stuffing them in a pocket. "I like this guy."

"you should meet his brother. He killed Mark Henry and Chris Jericho at once."

"yeah, where is Kane?" Mark asked.

"looking for a lead in Bearer's old penthouse."

X

"nothing burns in water. That's common sense," Jake said as he floated idly in the shimmering blue water of the pool, wearing black jeans, he had no swimming trunks. "still, this is kind of nice."

AJ, in a deep blue bikini with a skull on her right hip, flung herself off the diving board far above, screaming, "yeah-hah!" and landed with a great splash. A wave washed over Jake, and he came up spluttering. AJ surfaced next to him, laughing almost before she came up. "oh, man, I haven't had this much fun since… huh. Since me and Punk blew up Daniel's house, I guess, but this is way more relaxing."

"you blew up his house?" Jake laughed, which was rare.

"we were hoping he was inside," she said, and laid back in the water, paddling lazily around Jake, who knew without doubt that AJ was serious. "still, it was fun."

Jake's mind replayed the moment of AJ splashing down into the water, and an idea occurred to him. "hold on, I want to try something." he held up his hand for AJ to see, then plunged it under the water between them.

"what are you… AH!" she yelped as a wave burst up out of the water. He had used fire to create a bubble of steam underwater. "you're such a kid!"

"yeah, I guess that fits." Jake smirked. "last time I was in a pool, not counting when I fished you out, I was four years old." he splashed her again.

"oh, you wanna play this game, huh? I think I can take you."

"no mind reading, that's cheating." Jake paddled backward away from her, and prepared to summon fire again. "anything else is fair game."

AJ grinned, and swept her drenched hair back from her face. "you ready?"

"ready."

AJ summoned a wall of telekinetic energy, blasting most of the water in the pool at and over Jake. After a week of practice, she could now do this once without giving herself a splitting headache, and it would take three to cause pain enough to hinder her.

With Jake swamped at the far end of the pool, she withdrew all the spilled water back into the pool, and laughed. Jake said slowly, "what… the hell… was that?"

"that was you getting your ass kicked!" she laughed again, and blinked the chlorinated water from her eyes. When she opened them, Jake was standing a few feet in front of her, with a trail in the water he had jetted through. Somehow, he had used fire to propel himself forward. "oh, you want round two?"

"not exactly," he said, and moved forward to kiss her.

Punk cleared his throat, leaning against the glass door, with a cast on his right arm. Both AJ and Jake turned to him in surprise. "I didn't know you were so affectionate, when you're not incinerating people."

"incinerate is a strong word, Punk. I kind of prefer 'barbecue.' It sounds sort of beneficial, like I'm cooking something."

"oh, come on. Where's Kane, the seven-foot monster whose sole source of pleasure is eviscerating people? Where's the guy who burned Batista to cinders?"

"he's on vacation," Jake replied.

"yeah, well, vacation's over. Hunter wants to know what you've found, now." Punk turned solemn. "sorry guys, but I'm not the boss." he left, and was quickly followed by Jake and AJ.

X

Jake, wearing his normal clothing and mask, dropped a stack of papers on a table, with him and AJ on one side, and Triple H and the Rock on the other. "what's all this?"

"a few more goons we didn't know about, three safe houses where Bearer and his thugs cached weapons and contraband, and the one on the top is everything they know about us. How they think our powers work, what they believe to be our morals and goals, and a full list of all the aliases we use that they know about. It's safe to assume Abbadon has a copy of this file, because if he had no other way of getting it, he'd have sent someone to take it."

"alright, I'll look this over," Hunter began, but then got a call on his cell phone. "yeah?"

"put me on speaker, Mr. Helmsley." he did, and the voice of the woman on the phone continued, "hello, everyone. Hunter Helmsley, Jacob Glenn, Dwayne Johnson, AJ Lee. I am the SAS operative known worldwide by my most common alias, L."

"how do you know who's here?" AJ asked.

"I can see you all via the cameras Mayor Paul Glenn had installed. I am one of only five people who know of the existence of said cameras, and only two who know how to access them, the other being Bearer himself." she had a British accent, and her voice was very slightly filtered, likely just to make tracing it more difficult. "also, I hacked Paul Glenn's computer before any of you knew it existed. I know about all your powers, I know about Abbadon, and I believe I can help you with this situation."

Hunter set the phone on the table, and said, "go on."

"Abbadon is a demon of darkness, and you have mentioned before that light from any source will weaken him, don't ask me how I know that. I can assist in this, at least temporarily. When I'm notified of Abbadon's next appearance, I will activate every electrical light within range of him. This likely won't work for long, since he can still destroy the lights, but I will also reroute full control of Death Valley's power grid to a computer of your choosing. This way, you can cut off power to the other enemy forces… ah, Mr. Calaway."

"L." Mark ruffled his leather jacket, and said, "I know who you are."

"it doesn't particularly matter whether you reveal my name and powers, so feel free to do so."

"she and I were in the same biker gang for a few months. I don't know anything about her powers, and the name she was using could have just been another alias."

"ah, so you don't know who I am. Who I really am… all the better, since there are wiretaps in this room leading directly to the laptop previously owned by Chris Jericho." to quell the exclamations of panic, L added, "just because they know our plan doesn't mean they can stop us. I will arrive in Death Valley shortly, but in the meantime, clear away the wiretaps, so I can reveal more of my plan." L hung up.

X

The Rock, arms crossed and head hung low in pity, looked around the room that had become Glenn Tower's hospital. "they really got you guys."

Edge was sedated, for the pain of an arm that was broken in three places. Cena was faring better, conscious and recovering quickly, but he had suffered several fractures and a collapsed lung from Del Rio's attack and the subsequent wipeout in his Corvette.

By far the worst, however, was Randy Orton, completely comatose. He had been buried alive in the rubble, and it was a miracle he had even been found. It was only through AJ reading his thoughts that they located him. What was remarkable about it all was although his body would have been in unbelievable pain, his mind was functioning perfectly. He seemed even more intelligent than when he had been awake, in fact, he seemed almost inhuman. Cold, calculating, mechanical. AJ had shuddered when she had connected her mind to his. He had only really sent her one message, which she had passed along. "the Viper is coming."


	8. L

A/N: I'm working on a collection of Soulrend wallpapers for PC. Anybody know how I can get them online for you guys? I guess Deviant Art might work, but does anybody have a suggestion? BTW I have Undertaker, Kane, and Abbadon wallpapers done. If I can find a way to make 'em available for my readers, I'll get to work on the AJ, Triple H, Orton, Cena, and "L" wallpapers. So, if you want these, help me figure out how to put them online.

X

Eve woke, in unimaginable pain. She coughed, and nearly died from the pain of moving. She forced herself to lay still and not scream in agony. Slowly, it became clear what had happened. AJ and her had tumbled eight stories through the air. Eve had briefly glimpsed, however, that they had both been above a swimming pool. She should have landed in the water, killed AJ, probably by drowning her, and enthralled Kane as her personal bodyguard. Why, then, was she in such pain? Was AJ alive?

Telekinesis! The bitch must have used her powers! Eve had been in disbelief when AJ had nearly thrown her out a window with pure telekinetic force. Eve had never been warned that AJ could do that, she only knew that her opponent was a telepath, and a weak one at that, so two bursts of telekinesis should have been way beyond what AJ was capable of. Something must have changed that.

It became clear that Eve had mostly healed from the fall, but with the pain, it didn't feel that way. After a couple hours of brooding, Eve began moving. Twenty minutes after that, she had worked up the courage to sit up. The pain was still incredible, but unless she coughed or spoke, it didn't spike up.

Without warning or explanation, every light in the building went out. The power had been cut, which also took out the heating and the life support that had been keeping Eve alive until she woke.

"Eve Torres?"

What the hell? She looked around, and found the source of the voice, a flatscreen TV. After a moment, the screen flickered to life, displaying an L logo on a white background. The power was dead, was this somebody's powers? "Eve, I know you're there. How are you feeling?"

"who the fuck are you?"

"I am L. That's all you need to know about me."

"alright, L… I feel okay for somebody who fell eight stories."

"excellent. Eve, I know full well what kind of person you are, and I have a good idea of your motives for working with Abbadon. I also understand that you'll surely be looking for revenge for your injuries…"

"what, you want to convert me to whatever noble cause you're shipping?"

"obviously not." this caught Eve off guard. "I know you don't care about any goals beside furthering yourself, and eliminating those who oppose you. I can't convert you, so instead, I want to buy you off." Eve was silent and still, until L concluded, "think about it. Anything you want that I can legally give, you can have." the TV turned off.

X

L sighed, and turned off her computer. It had been two days since she last slept, this case was simply too fascinating to take a break from. True, she had powers, had used them in battle against others like herself, but this was different. There were demons, and an Angel of Death. Now the U.S. military was getting involved. And then there was Mark Calaway, alias Undertaker. She had known him once, but at that time, she had never seen anything unusual in him, anything signifying supernatural power. This alone made him a whole separate case to study and solve. Now, the time had come to arrive on the scene in person. Photographs existed of her, but there was only one document that actually linked her face to the alias L, and it was now in Evolution's hands. The last time she had been on a case in person was years ago, not that she was worried about assassination. Her power had protected her from every danger she had ever encountered. So what was this feeling? Not worry, it must be excitement. Yes, that was it. Finally, some fun.

X

Mark stretched out comfortably on his bed, watching the snowstorm finally begin to die. The TV in his room flickered on, displaying L's insignia. "you again. What is it this time?"

"I will be arriving in Death Valley in a few hours. This, however, is not the reason I'm calling. I'm letting you know that Kane and AJ are leaving as we speak." Mark looked out the window, and saw to his surprise that a red Lamborghini Murcielago was speeding away into the fading storm, with two silhouettes inside visible to Mark's keen eyes. "I take it you saw the car?"

"how the hell did you figure that out?"

"AJ has a grudge against Daniel Bryan. Kane has a grudge against Paul Bearer. Bryan and Bearer recently surfaced near the docks, working together. If I could get hold of this information, it would make sense that Kane, as resourceful as he has shown to be, would find it as well, and he and AJ would immediately go on the hunt. As for why I'm telling you and not Hunter, it's simple. You are Kane's brother. You know him better than anyone, and can predict him better."

"well, I'm gonna go help them. This place isn't exactly under attack, so they can manage without me for a little while."

"suit yourself, Mr. Calaway, but remember, if the snowstorm picks up again, there is an eighty-four percent probability that it is Daniel Bryan, and you are in range of his power."

"I'll remember that." L turned off the TV, and Mark went to get his bike, thankfully intact along with most of Evolution's vehicles. The garage of their previous hideout had survived the collapse that destroyed much of the building, and so their transportation was maintained. Then again, the supply of gasoline in the city would eventually run out. What then?

Mark shook off the thought, because for now, the bike roared to life underneath him, and its snarl was just as intimidating as a demon. He paused, however, and considered his weaponry. Soulrend was an immensely powerful weapon, and he could summon lightning for a ranged attack, but it was better to have something and not need it, than to die for lack of it. He looked around the underground parking lot, knowing well that a gun could be found just about anywhere in Glenn Tower. In fact, Evolution had intentionally left guns hanging on walls, within easy reach if an attack began. There, on yet another wooden table, were three guns, and Mark headed over to them. Two were M9 handguns similar to the ones Shawn Michaels favoured, but the third was a FAL semiautomatic assault rifle, with a laser sight attached to it. He picked it up, and remembered the last time he had held a weapon this size. He had been genuinely afraid of the idea that he would have to kill anyone at the time, but now, he was the Angel of Death. He hadn't hesitated in battle before, so why now? He took the rifle and hung it on the side of his bike, then belted on the handguns, and wrapped his black duster coat around himself. The coat hung to his ankles, and he had been wearing it since long before any of this insanity. The bike which purred a few yards away had also been with him for years. With these, he felt safe.

Mark swung himself into the seat of the bike, and gunned the engine, driving face first into the snowstorm. His coat caught the wind as always, and billowed out behind him like the wings of a bird… no, a dragon in flight. With all his weapons in easy reach, he was almost at ease.

X

"I hate the cold." AJ mumbled, shivering. She turned up the heat in the Lamborghini, and laid her head on Kane's shoulder.

Kane was new to this, all this romance, innocence and affection. Having spent two decades in a padded cell, tortured every day by his power-obsessed father, he wasn't an affectionate man by nature. And yet, with her falling asleep on his shoulder, he couldn't help but feel all his aggression and inner rage dissolve. If it wasn't for AJ, he would just be Kane, not Jake Calaway. Once Bearer was dead, he might have found himself with nothing to live for, but AJ had changed that. Two freaks in a destroyed city, with enemies lurking in a never-ending blizzard around them, and here they were, falling asleep together. The idea of living for something other than burning people alive was strange to him, almost intimidating through its sheer opposition to the only life he had ever known…

Kane shook these thoughts from his head as his brother rode up next to the parked car, and dismounted his motorcycle. He waved to Kane, and kicked open the door to an abandoned house. The storm was dying, but it was still snowing and cold. Kane looked down at AJ, already sleeping. He unbuckled his seatbelt and very slowly climbed out of the car, lowering AJ into a laying position. The one time she murmured in her sleep, close to waking, Jake whispered, "it's all right, nothing's wrong. Just sleep." she did, and he shut the door gently. Gently? Wow, that was new. Jake considered the repercussions of that thought. He was gentle now. That, by itself, felt completely different to who Kane was. Still, he had no problem with becoming a gentle, affectionate person. It just felt so improbable. On top of that, the timing was bad. They were in the middle of a war, he had to be as fearsome as ever to protect himself, and to a degree, AJ. Certainly, she was well capable of fighting her own battles, but the safer she was, the better.

This train of thought followed him into the house, where Mark sat contently at a table, with a beer in his left hand and a pistol in his right. "Kane." Mark tipped an imaginary hat to his brother, he was wearing a black bandanna.

"Mark. So, you're using guns now?"

"I guess so." Mark fired a shot, and within a second, Jake had him pinned against the wall, one hand wrapped around his throat, the other a fist wreathed in flame.

"damn it, Mark! She's sleeping," he hissed. Huh… maybe he could be affectionate and lethal at the same time.

"alright, fine, get the hell off me." Jake let Mark go, and froze as AJ's thoughts melted into his. There was no actual message, just a jumbled collection of images. All of them were peaceful, and Kane realized that she was sending him images from a dream. Even in sleep, she was reading his mind and showing him her own. "Kane, snap out of it, man! You alright?""yeah, I'm fine. Great, actually."

X

Hunter, the Rock, and Punk were all seated comfortably, awaiting L's arrival. She had already parked her car underground, and was on her way up in an elevator. The wait wasn't long, the elevator's bell rang and the doors slid open.

The hiss of a yoyo spinning on its string was the first thing Hunter registered. It returned to the deeply tanned hand of its master, with an audible impact. The young woman's face was without doubt the same as the one pictured in her file. However, whereas in the picture she had been wearing an SAS uniform, she was now dressed in a plain white t-shirt, black hoodie, and faded blue skinny jeans. With her left hand, she swept her hair back, and then stepped out of the elevator into the lobby where the three men sat. She looked at the only empty seat, a black leather recliner, and stepped around in front of it. She sat, and with a look of discomfort, briefly fidgeted. Then she stood, and stepped into the seat, crouching on the cushion rather than sitting normally. "you've removed the wiretaps?"

"not all of them. This is one of only a few rooms we can be sure are clean," Hunter replied.

"good." she pulled her finger out of the yoyo string, and set the toy on the arm of the chair. "as I'm sure you've concluded already, I am L. However, I'd like you to not refer to me as such, instead, please call me Layla from now on."

"what's with the yoyo?" Punk asked abruptly.

"oh… I get bored easily, so I keep a toy with me at all times. A yoyo is relatively inconspicuous. Boredom is, in fact, the main reason I chose to involve myself in this case. It should be rather entertaining."

"entertaining?" Hunter growled. "look… Layla. I'm sure you know that three of our members are laid up in a hospital ward, beat to hell and half-dead. There are demons on the loose here, and people are dying. This isn't a game."

"obviously not. Perhaps I should have explained better… try this. I am here to save lives, stop Abbadon, and help Evolution. That said, I chose this particular case out of a wide selection because I thought I would be needed here more than anywhere else, which at the same time meant that this case would pose more of a challenge… a more difficult puzzle to solve." Layla reached into a pocket on her jacket, and pulled out a small chocolate bar, holding it delicately between her thumb and forefinger. "so," she said as she unwrapped the candy, "I am here both to help you, and help myself."

X

Randy Orton stirred in his hospital bed. Soon, he would be ready to wake, and when he did, it would be the Viper that rose to battle against Abbadon and his henchmen. The Viper was an animal that had been caged for far too long, and even in his unconscious state, Orton relished the idea of releasing it. He would be able to strike soon.

Soon…

X

No fight scenes in this one at all, or in the previous chapter, huh? :( Seems too mellow. I promise I'll fix that next chapter. Remember, if anyone has any ideas on how to publish the official wallpapers for this story, please share it, cuz there's gotta be somebody out there who wants them. Do it for… (does lame-ass Clown Shoes impression) People Power!

Thank God we don't have to deal with Mr. John Boreinaitis, the Executive Vice President of messing up lines and PERMANENT General Manager of both chain smoking AND the mute button on my TV. No, on second thought, the mute button thing goes to Vickie, 'cause she's always saying the same idiot line: "EXCUSE ME blah blah NEXT CHAMPION blah blah DOLPH ZIGGLER blah blah I SAID EXCUSE ME!"

No, I'm not kidding, I actually mute Vickie Guerrero.


	9. Attack, part 1

A/N: I've decided. As soon as I have the wallpapers finished, I'm going to open up a shiny new Deviantart account and upload them all. Thanks to JadeRose1, Undertaker-GhostMan, and toonwriter for your reviews, all of which mentioned Dev Art and Photobucket. Now, we get back into the fight scenes.

X

Layla tossed a small chocolate into the air, and caught it, then popped it into her mouth. A plate of similar candies sat next to the laptop she was using. Her fingers were a blur on the keyboard, and it was clear she was doing something important. "how inconvenient," she muttered.

"what? What's happening?" Hunter was immediately panicked. If Layla found something inconvenient, it meant catastrophic for anyone else.

"a missile is headed for Glenn Tower. Fortunately, they're aiming for the wrong tower, and I may be able to hack it anyway, but still, it's such a nuisance." Layla resumed typing while Hunter gaped, and leaned further forward over the screen, entranced by the lines of code that were meaningless to anyone watching. "ah. Good, I've realigned it, it'll shoot above us and self-destruct when it runs out of fuel."

"where the hell did they get a missile?"

"it's completely inconsequential, what matters is that the foot soldiers will soon arrive, to attack what they hope will be a disorganized and panicked enemy. They don't know where we are in the towers, so we have the potential to ambush and eliminate them, but I don't like this at all. Kane, the Undertaker, and AJ are all away, hunting Bryan and Paul Bearer. We are at our weakest, and they are clearly strategizing." Layla paused, and brought up a view from the security cameras. A convoy of vans were approaching. "we have remote control of the parking lot gates. I'll shut them out, at least for a few moments." Layla typed again. "our next step is to find out who opposes us." the cameras zoomed in, and Layla picked out one vehicle first. "Vickie Guerrero, and a young man." Layla covered half the screen in photos, mug shots. "ah, his name is Dolph Ziggler, a powerful hydrokinetic like Punk. From his file, I'm assuming he reports to Vickie, not directly to Abbadon." she went to another van, and saw it open, revealing two hulking warriors. "Show, and the second, I would recognize anywhere. Ezekiel Jackson, both a pyrokinetic and superhuman. He's particularly dangerous."

When all the attackers were in view, she rattled off their names. "Cody Rhodes, cryokinetic. Alberto Del Rio, photokinetic, meaning he controls light. But of course, you already know that. The only other one I recognize is Hunico, and even I don't know his real name. he's pyrokinetic, but also a weak telekinetic. Not particularly bright, but he's ruthless."

"so, we're outnumbered."

"yes," Layla replied dismally, "but I do have a plan."

X

The snow had finally stopped falling, but the clouds still blotted out the sun, meaning Mark still had his power. He had a ball of caged electricity in the palm of each hand, and was ready to fling them, when a lightning bolt struck him in the chest.

Daniel Bryan summoned another bolt, and threw it, but Mark was impervious to electricity. The Undertaker's black wings spread wide, as the robes of the Angel of Death materialized over Mark's frame. The two exchanged lightning attacks, but neither could harm the other. Bryan was managing to fend off Kane, and had imprisoned AJ with a cocoon of ice. He laughed evilly as he raised his hands to the sky, forcing the storm clouds high above to dissolve. Mark drew Soulrend as the sunlight hit him, halving his power. "yes! Now we can really fight!" Daniel launched three blasts of blue-white energy at Mark, who deflected them all with Soulrend. He turned to face AJ, who was trying to tear her cage apart with telekinesis, and thickened the walls of ice around her. Mark charged like a bull, sword raised, but Bryan hit him with a fourth blast, freezing him solid. Kane and Bryan, now one-on-one, stood opposite each other with their powers raging.

Without warning, Bryan summoned a wall of ice between himself and Kane, and fled, with AJ's cage of ice levitating behind him. Kane immediately turned and ripped open the door of the Lamborghini, jumping behind the wheel and driving straight through the wall of ice.

Mark, with great effort, began to move again, and as soon as he defrosted, he fell to his knees, gasping for air. The ice had tired him out somehow, and he was freezing cold on top of that. Shivering, he stood, and retrieved Soulrend from the snow. He got to his bike as fast as he could, but every second he fell behind meant that Kane was in more danger, without any allies. If Bryan had some kind of trap set up, he could eliminate AJ and Kane at once. Then, Mark would be alone, and a single attack under daylight could finish him off. Evolution would lose its three greatest fighters, and the Ministry would slowly take over the city. With Abbadon at its head, the Ministry would march outward from Death Valley, and conquer the world. Mark couldn't allow that, and neither could the Undertaker. So he gave chase, not caring how vulnerable he was.

X

Gunfire and explosions were what woke Cena. He stood, groaning at the pain in his chest and head. Edge was still unconscious, but Orton was gone. In his current state, Cena had no chance of carrying Edge to safety, he would have to defend the room from whatever monstrosity was attacking Glenn Tower. An AK-47 rifle was hanging on the wall, he grabbed it and the clips with it, then pulled up a seat facing the door.

"everyone, this is L." Layla's voice thrummed over the PA system. "converge at point A-C-E and await further instructions." Adam Copeland, Edge! Anyone knowing Edge's alias and real name could recognize the code, but only members of Evolution would know there was no letter coding for specific places in the tower. They were coming to help him…

Two hulking figures walked by the closed door, and Cena recognized one through the window as Show. If they saw him, he'd be screwed, and "point A-C-E" would be meaningless. As Ezekiel Jackson walked by, Cena breathed a sigh of relief. He kept his gun trained on the door, and when Del Rio kicked open the door a few minutes later, he opened fire, emptying a clip. Del Rio, however, like many "powers," possessed an accelerated ability to heal. Del Rio's healing was far more pronounced than Cena's, and his wounds healed as they were created.

Suddenly, another man jumped and tackled Del Rio out of the doorway, pinning him with a knee and beating on him with burning fists. The newcomer stood, hauled Del Rio to his feet, and froze, looking around. For a moment, Randy Orton's ice-cold eyes stared daggers at Cena, then he turned again, and found what he was looking for. With a running start, he threw Del Rio out a window, letting him plummet to the distant ground.

For a brief moment, Del Rio knew the terror Eve had felt, but unlike Eve, he was saved by Hunico, who set him down telekinetically. He then shot flames at Orton, far above. In the fire and smoke, Randy was consumed, and when the flames died away, he was gone.

"what the…" Hunico felt tapping on his shoulder, and turned to see Randy behind him. He raised his hands to summon flame again, but Randy headbutted him and teleported far away, to the roof of Glenn Tower's main building.

X

Punk summoned water from the pipes all throughout the building, and sent a massive wave at Cody Rhodes. They were at opposite ends of a hallway, with windows on one side and rooms on the other. Exactly as Punk planned, Cody used his power to freeze the wave before it reached him, and Punk kept sending more waves. Eventually, there was ten feet of ice between them, and neither could see the other through it. The hallway was completely blocked except a small opening at the ceiling. Punk pulled a grenade out of his pocket, and tossed it through the opening in the ice, then ran. He didn't expect the grenade to actually explode, Cody could just freeze it, but it would panic him, and maybe distract him long enough for Punk to get out of sight and prepare an ambush. He looked out the window briefly, and saw two streams of flame flying at each other, one from the roof, one from the ground. He shook his head, and continued running, ducking around a corner as Cody shattered the wall of ice.

"cowardly son of a bitch! You can't hide from me!"

"he doesn't have to," Hunter growled, and Cody yelped as he turned, met with a burning sledgehammer which killed him with a single blow. Punk came back around the corner, and Hunter slung the hammer over his shoulder as its blue fire died out. He stepped over the chunks of ice, and said nonchalantly, "let's go. A-C-E."

X

Mark fired a fearsome lightning bolt at a wall of ice in his way, shattering it, and continued through the wreckage without slowing. Atop a skyscraper ahead, Daniel, Bearer, AJ, and Kane were all gathered. Kane was on his knees and shackled, and AJ was still caged in ice. Daniel spotted Mark, and sent a chunk of ice the size of a small house at him. Mark turned his bike, let it fall to one side and skid along the ground with a trail of sparks. He clung to the handlebars for dear life as the ice missile crashed down just behind him, with a rush of freezing cold air. As the bike stopped, he released it, and stood, knowing he would have to think fast. If only there was some way to blot out the sun, for just a moment…

The saddlebags. He had a spare jug of gas there! He opened up the right-side saddlebag on his bike, and took out the jug of amber liquid that he always kept in case of an emergency. He had never expected an emergency like this, but he would make do. He tied the jug to his belt with a strip of his shirt, next to Soulrend's sheath. This plan would either work, or he would die.

He kicked open the front door of the building, and drew his handguns from under his coat. transforming here might dislodge the jug from his belt, so he wouldn't risk it. Fortunately, Bearer seemed to be running low on goons, and there was no one in sight. Cautiously but quickly, Mark moved upward, guns at the ready to pulverize any threat. Paul Bearer's maniacal laughter echoed throughout the building, growing louder as Mark ran up the stairs at full speed. "you will have millions for your services, Bryan, but for now, you must get out of the pentagram! This power is mine alone! Besides, the combination of fire, electricity and ice in your blood could easily kill you." as Mark prepared to kick open the door on the roof, and confront the two, he took a moment to plan it out. Bearer was standing in a pentagram of some kind, he knew that, and it made sense that Kane was contained in it as well. He planned to use some ritual to take Kane's power and implant it into himself. Bryan was standing outside the pentagram, and AJ must be outside it as well. If Bryan knew Mark was alive, then he likely had AJ's ice prison between himself and the door, since he surely intended to kill her anyway. With this information in mind, Mark took a deep breath, and flung the door open, guns at the ready. He opened fire on Bearer, but a barrier of energy conforming to the charred lines on the concrete blocked every shot. In the center pentagon of the rune, both Bearer and Kane stood, and Kane was chained in place. Kane's eyes were glowing orange, and he was chanting in a demonic language. It seemed as though his incantation was fighting Bearer's, but Mark was forced to redirect his attention to Daniel Bryan, who was freezing him with clouds of frost and super-cooled air. Mark began to grow weak, but he knew his plan was working perfectly, with the exception of Bearer. He tossed his guns aside and charged at Bryan with all his strength. As AJ had tackled Eve, Mark now tackled Bryan, but Mark had a fully developed plan. As Mark and Daniel rocketed toward the unforgiving ground below, Mark grabbed the handle on the gas jug, and ripped it free of his belt loop, tossing it upward, and aiming lightning past Bryan. He staked his life on the fact the gas would explode from the shock, and his gamble paid off. It burst apart, flaming, and the gas burnt as it splashed through the air, resulting in a sudden, thick black cloud. It would only last briefly, but Mark knew he could manage this. He swung around Bryan in midair, so he was above his foe, and let the wings of the Angel of Death burst into existence in a plume of smoke similar to the gas. He beat his wings downward, tearing free of Bryan's grip as the rest of his robes were summoned. He turned and flew through a window in the skyscraper, smashing it as he crashed to the floor, a little roughed up, but alive. He was just in time, as the cloud of gas dissipated just a couple seconds after he broke through the window, meaning his powers would have faded and he would have died. He stuck his head out the shattered window, and looked down, expecting to see Bryan dead on the ground, but he was gone.

Meanwhile, Bearer was watching in horror as Kane melted his shackles with fire, standing to his full and terrifying height. Kane extinguished the flames, and thundered, "why can you not accept defeat?" his voice echoed with an ambient sound of fire, as though there were actual flames roaring in his lungs. Most demons spoke this way, akin to an accent, but in Kane's possessor it was particularly apparent. "why must you torment yourself, and waste my time?"

"please…" Paul Bearer whimpered, as he fell to his knees. "please…"

"please, what? Please, grant you limitless power, at the cost of the soul of the boy I raised? Yes, it was I, not his legal father, nor you, Paul Glenn, that raised Jacob. I chose him to do my will, and I reject you! Nothing will change that." the demon paused, and said proudly, "it is time for my son's lifelong quest to be fulfilled, but before he kills you, he will know that it was you, not I, that ignited the blaze that took away his life. You have spent his entire life seeking to tear him from me, and in death, you will know penance for it." Paul shivered, and fell backward, off his knees to his back as he tried to crawl away. "five hundred years, you will spend in Hell. The King of Darkness awarded me the choice of where you shall suffer, and I chose the Realm of Kalkydra. To be clear, I am Kalkydra! For five hundred years, I will torment you, and then cast you out into Limbo, where you shall wait for Heaven's gates to welcome you. After your atrocities, perhaps they never will." Paul screamed when Kane's eyes stopped glowing, revealing the blue and green of his human glare. Jake bent down and hauled Bearer into the air by his throat, and he dangled from Jake's grip, bursting into flame all over his body. Just before Paul died, the human Jake growled, "see you in Hell, Dad."

As Bearer's body stopped writhing, then stopped twitching, Jake dropped him, and went to help AJ, melting through the ice of her prison. She quickly hugged him, dangling off his neck and shoulders, then excitedly dashed to the edge of the roof, where she looked over it. She had seen the wisps of smoke floating upward, and figured out that Mark had burnt the gasoline to transform and fly free of Daniel, but as she peered down, she realized that her grim hunch was right. There was no body at the bottom of the tower. Her shoulders tensed, and she took a deep breath, then roared with ferocity that startled even Jake, "son of a BITCH!"

"what's wrong?"

"he got away again. Fuck him!" she let loose a blast of telekinetic energy, which flew outward from the roof, visible only as distortion in the air, like heat waves over flame. "this is the fifth time," she said slowly, seething. "I need to kill him, Jake, as much as you need to kill Paul." she gestured to the burnt corpse.

"how did he survive?" Jake asked carefully.

"I used to be able to teleport," AJ said miserably, and sat on the concrete, her head in her hands. "one day, Daniel decided he wanted my powers. He knew how to get hold of some black magic, a Dark Angel spellbook. He tried to absorb my power, and he nearly killed me, but we both ran when the cops showed up. He escaped, and I passed out. I woke up in a hospital, and about a month later, I met Punk. The only thing was, I couldn't teleport again after that day. Now I know for sure, that rat bastard actually managed to steal some of my powers." AJ sent another blast of energy off the rooftop, and growled, "he has to die, Jake."

Mark came through the doorway again, nodded approval at Bearer's corpse, then picked up his guns. An old-school Metallica song played, his cell phone was ringing. He answered it, "yeah?"

"this is L. You, Kane, and AJ need to return to Glenn Tower. It's under attack, and Evolution can't beat them back without you."

X

Layla flipped her phone shut, and looked around. Cena had Edge on his shoulders, everyone else was empty-handed. "everyone but Cena, grab a gun. Once you are out of enemy sight, fire it out a window. The rest will become clear. Cena, Edge, Orton, the three of you will teleport to the parking lot, and run. I will serve as a distraction, and get them away from this doorway while the rest of you escape." Layla gestured to the door being held in place by Sheamus, whose superhuman strength appeared to match Show's, who was on the outside, trying to bash it down. "to be clear, this is not martyrdom, I fully intend to survive. That said, Sheamus, please open the door." Sheamus groaned in pain as Show punched the door, jarring the shoulder braced against it. He swung the door open quickly, stepping to the side of the entrance, while Layla stood in its way, hands in her pockets, staring calmly up at Show. "if you're going to hit me, now's your chance," she said, and added, "if not, I'm going for a walk." Show nearly stepped aside, but eventually concluded he had no choice. He punched Layla, and expected her to go flying, mercifully dead on impact, but instead, she shrugged off the punch, and slid between Show and the door frame. She was completely unharmed, and equally so when Hunico and Ezekiel Jackson blasted her with fire. Even her clothes and yoyo were unharmed, so she kept walking, playing with the yoyo idly. Vickie Guerrero screeched at her, a voice that would normally send a person flying, through an odd sort of forward force, but it only irritated Layla. "oh, excuse me, Ms. Guerrero, but I advise you never to take up singing, in particular, opera. Good God, your voice is like a dragon with lung cancer. I have never in my entire life heard such an awful sound." Layla turned back to the task at hand, and walked further down the hall. As expected, her attackers followed her, desperate to figure out why she wasn't dead, completely forgetting the rest of Evolution.

Orton put a hand on the back of Cena's shoulder, then teleported away, taking Cena and Edge with him. Hunter was the first to fire the bazooka-like weapon, discharging a missile which towed a metal cable as it slammed into a building across the street. The cable then went taut, tightening again, hauling Hunter out the window and across the street into the side of a building. He caught a handhold on the wall, a flat windowsill, and hauled himself up through the open window, forgetting the cable-cannon. The rest of Evolution, better prepared for the function of the tools, followed suit, thus escaping Glenn Tower. All that was left now was to await the arrival of backup, namely the Undertaker, Kane, and AJ. Then, Evolution could fight back, and reclaim their base…

To Be Continued

A/N: in case anyone is wondering why Layla is OOC, I'd like to explain that it's on purpose. Her character is based mostly on another character called L, from a manga/anime called Death Note. It's a great series, both the comics and TV show, and I highly recommend it. Check it out on Wikipedia, they'll do a way better description than I can, particularly since this is a WWE fic, not an anime fic, and I don't want to get off topic. As for what her power actually is, it basically means that she's immune to any kind of physical damage. She could get shot in the face, set on fire, or thrown off a roof, and be completely unharmed. Telepaths like Eve and AJ can defeat her by taking control of her mind, but they can't actually kill her. This power has no connection to L from Death Note, but I figured it fit well with this version of the character, because I'm trying to portray L/Layla as being completely calm and relaxed in any situation, a major part of her character in this story.


	10. Attack, part 2

A/N: NO reviews for Chap9? really? _really_? REALLY?

X

Jake looked down at the charred remains of his father, Paul Bearer. It was little more than burnt bones, but a shine of silver caught his eye. He stooped to pick it up, and found it was a dagger, clearly of demonic origin. Its blade was in fact a web of metal strands, some as wide as a pencil, others as thin as a hair. A skull formed the pommel, and although it was only two inches tall, Jake knew it was real, perhaps the head of some hellish gremlin. The hilt was wrapped in blood-red leather, and the guard was steel, in the shape of two flared bat's wings. "Kane! We gotta go, hurry up!"

The man known as the Undertaker was already seated on his bike, with the supernatural sword Soulrend hanging from his right hand, and was talking to Jake over a headset. "yeah, I'm comin!" Jake stood, and dashed to the edge of the roof, flinging himself off it. As he plummeted to the asphalt below, he summoned his wings, twin massive expanses of roaring, swirling flame. With these, he landed gently next to the Lamborghini Murcielago convertible that he had stolen from John Cena. AJ was in the passenger seat, with her rifle at the ready, loaded with bullets of Dark Angel metal. Most human blood reacted violently to it, often catching flame, even inside the body, meaning a bullet of the stuff was doubly lethal. Jake turned the key and gunned the engine, following Mark at a ridiculous speed. In the distance, Glenn Tower's rooftops were visible, growing closer every moment. AJ flipped open her cell phone, and called the number Mark had given her. "L, this is AJ. Where are you, who's following you?"

"I am alone, in the lobby of a hotel called the Paragon. The address is 1220 Avonview Street. The rest of Evolution are all safe, outside Glenn Tower and awaiting a signal from both me and Mark Calaway, to launch a counterattack."

"I know the address. We'll meet you there."

"wait. I'd like you to put Mark on the phone. Hold your headset next to your phone, which you'll need to put on speaker."

"no problem." AJ took off her headset, and pushed a button on the phone. "Mark, L, you can now talk to each other."

"Mark, can you hear me clearly?" L asked calmly.

"yeah, I can hear you. What's wrong?"

"dial the number 617-2913. AJ, you may now put your headset back on, and you may hang up this phone. In fact, please do so immediately." The line went dead, and AJ hung up.

Mark sheathed Soulrend and called the number. He wasn't surprised when it was Layla who answered. "Mark."

"L, I'm guessing you wanted to talk to me privately about something. What is it?"

"firstly, when I talk to you next, it's your cue to call Triple H's cell phone. Tell him the passphrase 'the bell has tolled.' When you do, it means it is time to attack Glenn Tower. The reason for privacy is that you alone can know this passphrase. I told Hunter that only you would deliver it. Secondly, before we retake the tower, I would like to speak with the Undertaker. I believe I have important information for him."

X

Layla shivered momentarily as the seven-foot-tall Dark Angel turned to face her briefly. "my time in this world is limited, doubly so by a tale the Undertaker may tell you. However, who I am is not important. What is is that I know how to repair the Line of Death. Azrael's power lives on in this world, and you must tell the Undertaker that, exactly as I have said. When he sees the seal…" the Dark Angel gestured to the locked stone chest on the floor, "he will know who I am, and he will know what my coming means. He will know what must be done. Azrael's successor must be chosen, and it is his test, as Angel of Death, to find that person."

A Lamborghini's and motorcycle's engines growled outside, and the Dark Angel turned to the sound, seeing Mark atop his bike. "I must go now. No matter what, you must tell Mark that he will not fight until the chest is opened. By the scythe of the Scorpion, he is ordered. Tell him that." The Dark Angel dissolved into smoke, as Mark opened the door and stepped into the lobby of the Paragon.

"who the hell was that?"

"he didn't say," Layla admitted. "I am L, you will call me Layla, Azrael's power lives on in this world, and you can't fight until this chest is opened. That last one is a direct order, something about the scythe of the Scorpion says you have to obey it."

Mark's eyes squeezed shut, and when they opened, they glowed red. "the Scorpion is dead, and this is the scythe." The Undertaker drew Soulrend, and held it up, letting the dim electric lights glint off its blade. Just inches from his feet were the edge of the sunbeams. If he stood any closer to the window, his body would be forced back under human control. "and I know well what he meant by Azrael's power. I can smell it in the air, an angelic aura, somewhere in this city is Azrael's replacement as the keeper of Soulrend." The Undertaker sheathed his weapon, and stood over the stone chest, looking down at the chest with simultaneous curiosity and disdain. "Scorpion's seal is here on the chest. Someone must have forged it."

"the Dark Angel who was here said you would know who he was by the seal."

The Undertaker laughed darkly. "he intends to have me believe that he is the Scorpion. But I know the truth, the Scorpion is dead. If this symbol is no forgery, and the dead man has returned, then when I strike it with lightning, blue sparks will fly, and the lock will come opened. The key and lock are attached by stone but never touching. I am one of very few who know that blue sparks are the sign of a genuine seal. If the sparks are any other colour, then it is a forgery." The Undertaker raised his hand out before him, and shot a bolt from his palm. Bright blue sparks leapt into the air as the golden seal dissolved into dust, and the lock popped open. The Undertaker didn't look impressed or even fazed at all. He simply kicked open the lid of the chest, and stood frozen as an armoured figure rose from the chest, standing to the exact height as the Undertaker, minus a head, for the creature's body was merely black mist under the metal. The Undertaker's robes were summoned as his true form replaced Mark's, but they then dissipated, leaving a bare-chested Dark Angel, whose black hair obscured his eyes. He stared back at the dark creature through his hair, and a flash of red, his right eye, shone through. Then the smoke inside the armour faded away, and each individual piece of black, polished metal flew in a different direction, arcing through the air and eventually latching onto the Undertaker. When it was done, the armour fully assembled on his frame, he bent over the stone chest and pulled out a long black coat, of dyed leather and charred chain mail, and put it on over the armour, pulling up the hood of black cloth, and burying his face in shadow once more. He picked up Soulrend, sheath and all, off the floor, and hung it back on his waist again. When his robes had vanished, the sword belt had gone with them.

"what was all that?" asked Layla, with only a mild look of surprise.

"it seems I was wrong," Undertaker said slowly, and added, "the Scorpion lives again."

Layla flipped open her phone, and called Hunter. "yeah? Is it time? What's happening?"

She replied quickly, "the bell is about to toll." She hung up. Mark retrieved control of his body, and banished away his new armour. Layla immediately said, "when we get to Glenn Tower, you'll call Hunter. Let's go."

X

"the bell has tolled," Undertaker growled, and hung up. Standing in front of him was Show, wielding a telephone pole with both hands.

Rather than drawing Soulrend, Undertaker ducked the colossal weapon, and stood, flicking out the right side of his coat, where it stayed in place, waving slightly in the breeze. Unspeakable horrors snarled and glared in the shadows of the coat, these were the lesser demons Scorpion had captured, and bound to the coat. It was a creation detailed in a letter Scorpion had left in the chest. Weapons, monstrous sprits, and an endless storm were bound inside the darkness of the coat. The sprits had all agreed to stay within the enchanted darkness, and for good reason. As long as the coat existed, they were immortal, and if it were ever destroyed, the creatures would go free, mortal again but unharmed. Undertaker had seen Scorpion wear it for almost a century, before he died, and it was presumed destroyed.

Show blanched, and stepped back, dropping his makeshift weapon. It was then that Undertaker drew Soulrend, intent on absorbing Show's soul, but the sun's rays cut through a thundercloud high above, and Mark replaced the Angel of Death. Encouraged by this, Show charged, but was impaled by the lighter, faster Mark. Purple light shone off Soulrend's blade, but Mark pulled back, and Show was not yet dead. The wounded giant stumbled backward, away from Mark, and broke into a run. When the clouds blocked the sun again, Mark transformed, and hung the ends of the ancient trenchcoat out at his sides. Smoke and fog billowed out of it, and eventually filled the air. Thunder rumbled as he released the tail end of the coat, and looked around at his handiwork. This coat was invaluable, and he knew it well. Mark sheathed Soulrend, and pulled a colossal black battleaxe from within the impossible space inside the coat. It was almost ten feet long, and the blade was the size of a manhole cover. This weapon was breakable and expendable, but his enemies didn't know that.

Layla watched with fascination as the Undertaker went into battle with Hunico. This being was solid evidence of the existence of Dark Angels, and thus, angels and demons as well. It was also highly significant that Mark Calaway had been born without powers, yet he could now use lightning even when separated from the Angel of Death. So far as she knew, this had never happened before, a person generating powers after completely maturing. There had been cases where powers had appeared as late as 12 years old, but this was completely different, and what was more, Mark seemed to be growing more powerful by the day.

Layla winced as the axe came down, literally, on Hunico's skull, cleaving him almost in two. The Undertaker abandoned the weapon as Abbadon made his appearance, floating down through the fog with wings spread wide. The remaining members of what had been Paul Bearer's Ministry of Darkness gathered around, and watched with anticipation as the Undertaker drew Soulrend, and Abbadon hefted his greatsword. They clashed, and Soulrend's blade grated along the edge of Abbadon's sword. The Undertaker stepped quickly to the side, and let his foe's sword come crashing down into the pavement, slicing deep into the black asphalt, where it stuck, and the Undertaker whipped Soulrend across Abbadon's chest. Wisps of purple smoke trailed behind the blade as it arced back out of Abbadon's flesh, and the demon hauled his weapon out of the ground, raising it to attack the Undertaker again, but for a second time, the Angel of Death dodged the blow easily, and smashed the pommel of Soulrend into Abbadon's jaw. He reeled from the attack, but brought his sword into an upward arc, which nearly caught Undertaker in the face, but he leaned backward, feeling only the breeze pulled behind the demonic weapon. In response to Abbadon's attack, the Undertaker raised Soulrend for an overhead chop, but Abbadon punched him in the face with his empty left hand. The two lowered their weapons, and circled each other. The Undertaker summoned lightning and blasted Abbadon with it, as the air was filled with deafening thunder. As Abbadon stumbled backward, the Undertaker held open his coat, and from the darkness within, a roiling wall of flame erupted, flaring past the Undertaker and consuming Abbadon, who took to the air, still on fire. The Undertaker's wings plumed out of his back, now true wings covered in black feathers, but he knew that Abbadon had escaped. If he flew upward after him, he would pass the boundaries of the fog, and would be banished, leaving Mark to plummet to his death. So instead, he sheathed Soulrend and watched the Ministry flee. The Undertaker caught a glimpse of Layla watching him intently, but he paid it no heed. It was no surprise the mortal was staring, she had just seen the combined might of two Angels of Death, something that had never happened before. Still, it didn't look to be terrified awe on her face, but some other attention. The Undertaker allowed Mark's body and mind to replace his, and watched passively through Mark's eyes, as he often did. Perhaps another human could make better sense of the mortal woman.

X

Mark threw himself onto his bed with a loud thump, and turned on the TV, to resume watching a Clint Eastwood western DVD he had left untouched for several days. "good to be home," he muttered as he cracked open a can of beer. Soulrend was sitting in its sheath on his dresser, along with his handguns.

A knock came on the door, and Mark called, "it's unlocked." To his surprise, it was his brother who shuffled in, without his signature mask. "Kane? What's up, man?"

"AJ wants your help hunting Bryan tomorrow." Kane sat in Mark's chair, salvaged from Evolution's previous base. "is this a good one?"

"A Fistful of Dollars, one of the best of all time." Mark sipped his beer, and was about to accept Jake's offer to go Goatface-hunting when L's insignia replaced the western. "okay, is it L this time, or Layla? I'm a little confused."

She remained silent for a moment, then answered slowly, "is it Mark, or Undertaker? I'm a little confused… precisely why I'm contacting you. It irks me to no end that I don't understand this situation."

"alright, I'll explain it all in the morning. Where's your room?"

"room 699, the penthouse suite of the Hotel Paragon."

"got it," Mark replied, and the movie resumed where it had left off.


	11. Exposition

Okay guys, this isn't actually a chapter, the chapter comes after this bit. What I'm doing here is trying to recap and explain anything that people might find confusing so far. If it turns out I haven't made anything confusing to you, then just skip this and go straight to the next chapter. WARNING this is all just one big exposition.

The Undertaker (the Dark Angel) can take over Mark Calaway's body and mind whenever they're not underneath sunlight. If they're indoors, he can transform, no matter how brightly lit the room is. His newly acquired cloak in Chap10 is capable of summoning things like demons and weapons from inside it, but if it's cut, it becomes essentially useless, and it's almost impossible to repair properly. So it's a bit of an Achilles heel, because Taker can use it to summon fog and smoke, allowing him to transform outside during the day. If the cloak is destroyed in a fight, he'll only have a few minutes until the fog dissipates, leaving Mark vulnerable. Also, there's the matter of Soulrend. When the Undertaker (or Mark in Undertaker's form) wields it, it's completely weightless, but when Mark wields it in human form, it weighs as much as a normal sword. If someone else were to pick it up, they could swing it, but it'd be immensely heavy. It can kill about as easily as a human sword can, but it eats souls instead of damaging flesh. So, if you're hit with Soulrend, your soul's grip on your body loosens, but it takes a blow that would be lethal from a regular sword to actually tear the two apart. There are exceptions in the fact that certain humans, such as Show, can survive being impaled by Soulrend, but this can be attributed to their powers.

Abbadon is currently inhabiting Brock Lesnar's reanimated corpse, which is and will remain as healthy as it did in life, meaning Abbadon won't rot into a zombie. Also, at this point, only a small part of Abbadon's power and soul are in this world, meaning if Lesnar is destroyed, Abbadon will simply be sent back to Hell. Abbadon can summon more power into his mortal form, but it takes time. This bit of information hasn't come into play yet. If more than half his soul is inside Brock Lesnar's body when it's killed, then Abbadon will die.

Kane is the combined minds of Jacob Glenn and Kalkydra, a powerful but unusually benevolent demon. Kalkydra almost never takes full control of Jake's body, and prefers to cooperate with Jake, having known him almost from birth. Jake has pyrokinesis, control of fire, without Kalkydra, but he's made much stronger by his demon benefactor's presence. The mask Kane wears actually has no demonic power, it's really just a symbol that Kalkydra enjoys using, to signal the difference between Jake and Kane. Kalkydra and the Undertaker have had quarrels in the past, but thanks to a blood contract thought up by AJ, they have come to terms, and Kalkydra's crimes have been forgiven. At the moment, Kane is in possession of the demonic dagger that has belonged to Abbadon and Paul Bearer in the past. Its power hasn't yet been explored, but it'll play an important role in the chapters to come.

The Viper (Randy Orton) no longer refers to himself as Randy at all. His primary power is teleportation, which he can do rapidly and without ill effect, which is unusual, as will be explained next chapter. He also is capable of pyrokinesis. The voices in his head, I.E the Viper persona, actually aren't a demonic influence, but a genuine schizophrenic delusion. To put it bluntly, he's insane. Fortunately, he sides firmly with Evolution, and that's not likely to change.

Vickie Guerrero's power was largely intended to be a mean joke, but it's actually become important. For anyone who's played Skyrim, think FUS RO DAH! If you haven't, basically what it means is that when she screams, the sound is about as loud as a jet engine, and it'll send people flying with sonic waves. Dolph Ziggler is actually a hitman under her employ, not Abbadon's, and his power is similar to CM Punk's, however instead of controlling any liquid, Ziggler can only control water.

Layla's power is purely defensive, she's essentially indestructible. Although incredibly resistant to these, she can be drowned, suffocated, and can suffer from hypothermia, either overheating or freezing, but no weapon can harm her, the same goes for people's powers. If Ezekiel Jackson had kept Layla surrounded in fire in Chap10, he might have cooked her, but he gave up, because she wasn't burning. Rather than any offensive powers, she relies on a calculating, tactical mind and a lifetime of martial arts training to actually defeat her foes.

Hunter (Triple H) has the most complex powers. Unlike Layla, he can be injured by weaponry and powers, but his body is incredibly resilient. He's bulletproof, fireproof, and can take a punch from Show without even staggering. Most weapons like crowbars and knives will buckle and break before injuring him. This same effect is added to his sledgehammer, but in addition, the effect works backwards on any weapon he holds, including said sledgehammer. He swings it with reasonable speed, but tremendous strength, and it can break through almost anything. Early in the story, he sends Mark Henry flying halfway across the city with it, but since Henry's body was durable enough to stay in one piece, he survived. The effect on his body is invisible, but on weapons he uses, it's seen as a bright blue aura like fire.

Scorpion, the previous Angel of Death, is now an undead Dark Angel, and travels back and forth between the afterlife and Death Valley. He does this not to fight, but to continue teaching his student, the Undertaker. Scorpion is in fact the WCW/TNA wrestler Sting.

Alberto Del Rio is an extremely successful assassin who sells his skill to the highest bidder. He has a weakness for expensive cars, and a serious grudge against John Cena. Del Rio's power is primarily the generation of intense golden lasers which emanate from his palms, but he's also capable of healing at an incredible rate, similar to Wolverine from X-Men. At the moment, he's not officially working for Abbadon. He only joined the attack on Glenn Tower in Chap9 in an attempt to kill John Cena.

Eve Torres is a powerful telepath, who can use her power to immobilize or even control her enemies. If she kisses a victim, that person becomes her thrall, their mind wiped clean. They become like robots. This is a power she can turn on or off, so hypothetically she could kiss someone without possessing them. Also, the contact does not have to be lip-to-lip. I chose this power to be attributed to a kiss for two reasons: One, the "Hoeski" Zack Ryder storyline, and two, so that AJ could say "kiss this, bitch!" and hit her with something heavy… ouch. (after writing that chapter, I remembered hearing Mikaela say that line in Transformers 2) Eve's storylines with L (she's trying to convert Eve to Evolution's side) and Alberto Del Rio (for an unknown reason, he nursed her back to health after AJ threw her out a building) are ongoing.

The three worlds outside Earth:

Heaven: the realm of Angels. Few characters come from this world, and at the moment, none are alive. Azrael, the keeper of Soulrend, was an Angel, not a Dark Angel, and was neutral in the war between Heaven and Hell. His job was simply to pass Soulrend from one owner to the next, but without him, or a suitable replacement for him, this is impossible.

Hell: the realm of demons. The characters Abbadon and Kalkydra are demons. It is not entirely a realm of fire and death, there are zones of darkness, impossible cold, endless boiling water, and other horrors, but demons themselves live in relatively survivable cities of obsidian and brimstone. The more powerful demons have elemental forces that they control, with minimal power over other forces, for instance, Abbadon is a Demon of Darkness, but he can control lightning somewhat.

Serenity: the realm of Dark Angels. The Dark Angel race began with Death, the Grim Reaper and the original Angel of Death, who was in fact a full-blooded Angel, eventually infused with demonic power, at which point his species changed entirely. He bore children with an Angel, and after a few hundred years, the Dark Angel race was large enough to require its own world. Thus, Serenity was created. The title of the Angel of Death has been passed on for thousands of years, until it was passed to the Undertaker, at which point the caretaker of Soulrend, Azrael, was killed. The Dark Angels, in particular the Angel of Death, are peacekeepers between Heaven and Hell, and if the line of Soulrend is not restored, if the Undertaker dies before Azrael's replacement is found, then Heaven and Hell will wage war, the Apocalypse will begin, and the world as we know it will end.

_The Line of Soulrend is broken, the Demon of Darkness is free,_

_The world will be saved by the Fallen Ones, or meet its end with this prophecy._


	12. Towers

A/N: 1000th episode of Raw: UNDERTAKER IS BACK! No, no, hold on. The BROTHERS OF DESTRUCTION are back! Oh, and AJ is the new GM… huh. It's an upgrade over Clown Shoes, but I don't really know what else to say. The only downside was that the asshole version of CM Punk has replaced the super badass version we know and love. Why? It was just a dumbass move by the creative team. Even the Miz as Intercontinental champ, I can live with, but to quote him… REALLY?

Couple weeks later: NO FUCKIN UNDERTAKER! What happened, man? As a WWE fan, a can't help but feel that we, the people of the WWE Universe, have been completely ripped off…

X

"Undertaker." Mark sat cross-legged on his bed, trying feebly to meditate. It wasn't working. "damn it, I know you can hear me. We have to talk about this shit."

_I am listening._

"from now on, I don't want you kicking me out of my own body, at least not without warning. I'd understand if it was in battle, if we were fighting Abbadon, but in the Paragon, you just took over. You could have let me know."

_It was Dark Angel magic. I had to deal with that chest, and not allow you to open it. Why do you care so much?_

"because you scared her shitless. Layla. It's bad enough that she had to hang out with a normal Dark Angel, but you? You look like the goddamn Grim Reaper. You know, Death himself? I'm not sure if it's just a mortal legend, or if he really existed, but it doesn't matter. You wanna scare people, you make damn sure they're the enemy."

_She didn't look frightened._

"she didn't think you were capable of killing her. That doesn't mean she wasn't scared."

_Oh, now I understand…_

"yeah, damn right you do. My body, my rules, so you can take your lightning and your magic sword somewhere else if you pull that shit again."

_You're infatuated with her, aren't you?_

"shove it up your undead ass. Of course I am."

_I'm not undead, and as you humans say, "you sure know how to pick 'em."_

"what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

_Her powers are of angelic origin, and the same bloodline as Azrael. I believe she is his replacement._

"isn't that a good thing?"

_It means she will be a major target for Abbadon. Even if Brock Lesnar's body is destroyed, he will live on. If we die, and Layla survives, a new Angel of Death will one day be chosen. If she dies somehow, then the line of Soulrend will be broken forever. The fate of the world as you know it is in our hands and hers._

"so we kick Abbadon's ass, and figure out how to fix this bloodline crap with Soulrend. But you will not commandeer my body by force, ever again."

_You intend to meet her today. She may want to talk to me. _

"then I'll give you control. Temporarily. And I 'intend to meet her' in about twenty minutes." Mark stood, and went to grab his trenchcoat, but then turned to look out the window, into the blinding sunlight, and decided against it.

X

"Daniel Bryan, at this point, is working alone." Jake looked from the laptop, to his mask, to AJ. "we'll get him, AJ, I promise, but…"

"but we have to focus on Abbadon, yeah, I know." She sighed, and tossed a loaded clip from an assault rifle into the air. As she caught it, she added, "I can feel something, Jake. He's getting ready to do something, and I think I know why. He lost a fight to the Undertaker, and he needs to be stronger. Right now, only a fraction of his power is in Brock Lesnar's body. He'll need to perform a long and elaborate ritual to further mix his true power with a mortal form, and depending on how far he takes it, his earthly form might actually become immortal. I think he plans on summoning enough of his power to overwhelm Mark, but not enough to risk his own safety if his mortal body is destroyed. When Scorpion fought him in India, his body was killed, but he survived. Abbadon wants to make sure he still has that escape route."

"so what do we do?"

"we make sure the Undertaker doesn't fight alone." AJ stood up, and picked up the mask of Kane. "if the Undertaker and Kane fight him head-on, together, they'll have a pretty good chance."

Jake looked at the mask, then up at AJ. "hold up. If we go after Daniel, we could potentially use his death to send a message to Abbadon. The problem is, it's a gamble. If Bryan escapes us, or if we can't thoroughly destroy him, it makes Evolution look weak, but if we do destroy him, we'll have our enemies terrified. It'll be a great debut for the Brothers of Destruction."

"Brothers of Destruction…" AJ echoed. "damn."

"yeah, we'll have to put on a show if we're going to live up to that name." Jake gently took the mask from AJ, and put it on. "to be honest, I don't think we'll scare Abbadon, but his goons? They're human, they can be intimidated, scared away."

"fair enough," AJ replied, "but if we do this, it'll have to be planned out, like a mob hit. Instead of just blasting Daniel sky-high, we'll make an entrance. Lots of explosions and lightning, and we'll have him shitting himself before we're through."

"we… so you want in?"

"you think I would miss this?"

X

The Viper teleported across a street, and listened to the quiet hum only he could detect, the white noise that emanated from the realm between realms, the path a teleport takes. It had been quiet for days, but a few minutes ago, it had flared louder, meaning that someone else had teleported, or rather, arrived from a teleport that had begun much earlier. The Viper had never heard this, only one flare instead of two, a departure and an arrival. It meant that whoever had just arrived in the building below him had been in the inter-realm for at least a few days, and that would be torture.

The poor man screamed in agony, and the air grew cold. The Viper sniffed in the now icy breeze, and smelled no fear on the wind, just pain, and a hint of relief. His senses were beyond that of even the most efficient predator, he could smell a person's emotions, could feel where they were in a building three blocks away. Fear, in particular, he could taste on the tip of his tongue, but now there was none.

Daniel Bryan, unaware he was being watched, crawled weakly to a source of heat in the frigid room. His own powers over ice and cold had backfired horribly, and he was almost hypothermic, so he curled up in a thick blanket that only made him shiver more. He knew better than to remove it, and he slowly warmed the blanket with his minimal body heat.

His teleportations had always been long, painful, and terrifying. They were also infrequent, partly because he couldn't do them more than once a month, mostly because he was afraid the next attempt would kill him. AJ's powers revolted against him, even when torn from her completely. He had no way of knowing that because he was limited to roughly one teleport a month, he would not be able to escape a battle for the short rest of his life.

X

Mark Calaway showed up at the penthouse suite of the most expensive hotel in Death Valley wearing nothing more classy than a white Metallica t-shirt, black jeans, and an old pair of black leather sneakers.

Layla opened the door wearing a white long-sleeve shirt and blue jeans. She was barefoot. The hand not holding the doorknob was flicking a blue yoyo, which she pulled back to her palm, and then stepped aside to allow Mark entry. He wasn't exactly nervous, he certainly wasn't sweating bullets, but he was on edge, trying to make sense of her. She seemed completely emotionless, almost robotic. _No human being should be like that_, he thought to himself.

"before we begin, I would like to assure you that I was not 'scared shitless,' but I do appreciate your concern." Mark blanched, and began to apologize, but Layla abruptly cut him off. "don't be sorry, you haven't done anything wrong, and I'm not angry." she flicked the yoyo, and let it spin, hissing on the string. "I've prepared a series of tests, and I would like you to go through them. After that, there will be a field test of your powers, as you and Kane attempt the assassination of Daniel Bryan. Are you ready?"

"yeah, no problem."

"good. First is a test of your electrical powers. I want you to shoot something, first as you, then as the Undertaker. Any notable differences in the two examples will be recorded." Layla flicked her wrist upward, and the yoyo coiled itself, ready to be swung again. She stepped into the middle cushion on the cream-white sofa in the living room, turned on the ball of that foot, and crouched there, holding her knees with her hands. "begin."

"what do I shoot?"

"take your pick."

Mark looked around the expansive penthouse suite, and set his sights on a white china vase. It looked ancient, expensive, and easily shattered, although to be fair, that meant it probably wasn't Layla's. he shot it with lightning, breaking it into a thousand burnt pieces. "how's that?"

"the Ming Dynasty urn was an excellent choice, Mr. Calaway." Layla stared blankly up at him, then smirked slightly. "I'm kidding." he sighed in relief, and she added, "it was Han Dynasty."

"isn't that older?"

"I don't know." Layla shrugged for emphasis. "your assumption it wasn't mine was correct."

"how did you know I…"

"never mind it. Pick something else, and shoot it while transformed."

Mark transformed, and raised his hand, now plated in black armour, but a deafening shriek of wind came from outside. To his shock, Mark saw a white missile quickly approaching the building. On instinct, Mark aimed and fired at lightning bolt at the missile, destroying it. Layla hopped forward out of her seat, and stood, watching Mark draw Soulrend.

"Undertaker! Get down here, I wanna finish this!" it wasn't Abbadon, nor anyone else he had fought before.

"his name's Ezekiel Jackson," Layla explained. "I suppose it's possible that Abbadon has promised him demonic power if he kills you."

Mark spread his coat behind him, and let a dark grey cloud of fog and smoke consume the building. Whispers of demonic voices made Jackson panic in the darkness, fearing he was surrounded, while Mark said to Layla, "I'm going to send a message. Get yourself clear of the building."

"I'm sure I can handle some misplaced lightning."

"I'm not worried about the lightning," Mark growled. "I'm bringing this tower down on Jackson."

Layla blinked. "you can do that?"

"I haven't tried it before." without another word, Mark leaned forward, and flew like a bullet out the window, then let himself drop downward into the heart of the fog cloud. He landed with his arms crossed over one knee, and as he stood, Ezekiel Jackson punched him in the face, sending him flying through a window, into the lobby of the hotel. Scorpion's stone chest was still there, to heavy to waste effort moving, but as Mark got up, he saw Jackson picking it up, ready to throw it at him. Mark stood up completely, and was immediately knocked down again by the weight of the shattering stone.

_Get up! _the Undertaker roared in his mind. _I chose you, and I expect you to do better than this… Jackson is nothing compared to a demon, let alone Abbadon!_

_Shut up, I have a plan._

Mark sat up, then stood, and Jackson took a step back, surprised. "is that it? The best you can do is throw something heavy?"

Jackson managed a weak laugh. "I'm kinda curious. Is that the Undertaker under that hood, or am I talking to a mortal man?"

"the Undertaker doesn't talk much…" Mark saw Layla atop a building across the street, waving. "finally!"

Mark raised his hands at his sides, and his palms spewed blinding lightning and deafening thunder in all directions. The sheer force of the thunderclaps and the white heat of the lightning drove Jackson back further, as cracks appeared in the concrete of the tower behind the Undertaker. Chunks of the outer wall began to tumble down, and then the building was pulled forward. It leaned over the two combatants, then tipped past the point of no return, and collapsed.

X

Mark, in a human form but with Soulrend in his hand, strolled through the rubble of the tower. Layla was watching across the street, and the building she was perched on was badly damaged, but still standing. Ezekiel Jackson was frantically trying to muscle free of a tomb of concrete, but he was buried alive. Mark stood over him, with the sun overhead tinted a reddish-brown by the dust in the air. Jackson looked up at him, terrified and helpless. Mark's voice echoed as he pointed the sword downward at Jackson's pounding heart, and pushed slightly, forcing his defeated foe's back into the jagged ground. "no rest for the wicked. No peace for the damned, no sleep for the treacherous… save death."

"please, NO!"

"rest in peace," Mark said simply, and stabbed.

Layla flinched and gasped. She was almost impossible to shock, but the look in Mark's eyes, even from so far away, truly frightened her. It was a mixture of fury and pity, and Layla could swear his eyes were tinged red like those of the Undertaker. To be fair, that might be the red sun in the dusty sky, but it still unnerved her.

What exactly was going through his mind? Duty? Vengeance? Loose ends? She considered the first to be the most likely, but she wondered, exactly how much control did Mark have over his hand just now?

She heard a faint noise coming from Mark's location, like the ringing of a great bell, as she turned around to head back downstairs, and was met with a startling sight. Mark was just three feet away, blinking repeatedly and looking bewildered. She looked back, and saw Ezekiel's corpse, but not Mark. Soulrend was also sitting in its sheath at Mark's waist, which she noticed as he said hesitantly, "what the hell just happened? I mean, I know I killed Jackson, but how'd I get here?"

"you mean teleportation isn't one of your abilities?"

The Undertaker answered, _it has no link to me, but I can explain how this happened. You see, when Soulrend devours a soul, it doesn't simply disappear. It is absorbed by the wielder, who is made stronger by it. Since Mark delivered the killing blow, his power has increased, not mine._

"so it's like levelling up in a video game." Layla shrugged at Mark's raised eyebrow. "you're looking at a person who can outwit any living being on Earth, including an Angel of Death, so solving the great unsolved mysteries of the world eventually got too easy to be fun. I had to find something that I couldn't do solely with intelligence, so I play video games."

She paused, and added, "that said, this particular case intrigues me and entertains me very much. If there are angels and demons, surely there is a God, or some sort of creator deity. If I assume that to be true, there's no guarantee that any known scripture has perfectly explained his or her manner of existence, so which religion best explains our creator? Better yet, perhaps they all do so. Consider pagan religions that worship multiple gods and goddesses. If we assume these myths have a basis in fact, then there are two possibilities. Firstly, a single creator with multiple identities, or secondly, a pantheon of deities who all appear as various personas, sometimes collecting under one name in certain religions. It's fascinating, really… a mystery I haven't solved…"

X

"again," Layla said without emotion, and watched as Mark teleported for the eighth time. Once again, the sound of a tolling bell echoed from around Mark as he disappeared into wisps of blue-grey smoke, but he was silent as he reappeared. "I've confirmed, the sound is not otherworldly… my best guess is that your body vibrates before you teleport."

"and I can only teleport to somewhere in my line of sight." Mark said, and relaxed. "still, this is useful."

In a flash of fiery red light, the Viper arrived, or rather, moved into a visible position. "what do you see during a teleport? Anything?"

"just darkness, as if I'm blinking."

"good, and do you hear the whisper of the space between spaces? Do you hear things you couldn't hear before?"

"no, should I?"

"I don't know. You're the first teleporter I've met, maybe my powers are unusually strong…" the Viper teleported away without another word, and Kane, wearing the mask that terrified all who opposed him, stepped in, and patted Mark on the back. Although to their enemies they were soulless killing machines, the Brothers of Destruction were still brothers.

"so, Undertaker, are we still going hunting tonight?"

"all of us, with various targets. Tonight, the Ministry of Darkness will die," Mark said darkly, and drew Soulrend. There was not a scratch nor a fingerprint on the blade, and no stains of blood either, for it couldn't cut flesh. The four feet of polished black metal shone as if it had never touched anything except the air. "Kane, AJ, Layla, and I, we're all aiming at Daniel Bryan, but he's not even directly attached to Abbadon, so once we're through with him, Kane and I are going alone to kill Show. AJ, you're going to head back to base…" she protested briefly, but Mark added, "…to meet up with Hunter, Randy, and Rocky. The four of you are going after Dolph Ziggler and Vickie Guerrero. There are rumours that Alberto Del Rio and Eve Torres have joined up with them, and that they've formed a new faction, so if that's true, you might be able to reason with them, but I doubt it." _by the end of the night, that'll leave Abbadon without any allies at all…_

X

Abbadon's lair, a tower blackened by fire, inside and out, was currently occupied solely by the Demon of Darkness himself, standing in the center of a pentagram rune carved into the floor of the room. At each corner, each point where lines met, a dark blue candle burned, the wax dripping down onto the pentagram, which was glowing orange like the fire of Hell.

As the sun disappeared completely past the horizon, Abbadon grinned, and the rune glowed brighter as the floor burst into flame. Brock Lesnar's skin darkened until it was as black as charcoal on a moonless night, his eyes glowed a red like blood lit from within by fire. From the depths of Hell, a portal opened on the floor, and out from it rose a broadsword made of orange glass marbled with black streaks and whirls. It looked like lava, and it glowed the same way. As it reached Abbadon's hand, however, the crystal turned blue and dim. As long as he touched it, it was darkness incarnate, but when his hand left the hilt, it shone like the sun. He hung it in a scabbard at his waist, where its light would be hidden, and he looked around. His power was growing by the minute, but he would be entombed here until sunrise. On the other side of Death Valley, Evolution was preparing to wipe out his minions, but Abbadon wouldn't have cared, even if he had known. As long as this pentagram was in place, he was unable to get out, but his foes were unable to get in.


	13. Destruction

A/N: _…there are five still alive, through the raging glow, _

_gone insane from the pain, that they surely know _

_for whom the bell tolls…_

(Metallica- For Whom The Bell Tolls. If you've been keeping track, which I have, in order to not contradict myself, there are five male bad guys left, counting Abbadon.)

When I started this story, I thought I was gonna put a Taker vs. HHH feud in, but the story went away from that like it had a mind of its own. Oh well… this all seems to be going over well enough.

Daniel Bryan had barricaded himself in a warehouse to the south of town, which by now was frozen solid. His electrical powers kept the place well-lit, but he feared the darkness outside.

He heard a gong in the distance, the ringing of a tremendous bell, and saw lightning flash outside. After a few seconds, thunder shook the warehouse, and Bryan went to his collection of weapons, choosing an AK-47 to fend off the attack he knew was coming.

Twin pillars of flame erupted on either side of the barred entrance, then they faded away, and burst into life again. The hellish flames washed over the spikes of ice Daniel had put in place to hold the doors shut, and when they went out, the ice was gone, and the door was blackened. He raised his weapon, and saw the blade of a sword slice through the door three times, at which point it withdrew, leaving its cuts in the door, glowing purple.

Then, the door exploded, and bits of it rained down across the floor of the warehouse. Daniel flung twin bolts of lightning, but they were deflected toward the walls by the Undertaker's sword. Daniel opened fire with his rifle, but the Undertaker didn't even flinch as the bullets were smashed into foil against his armour. Kane entered then, holding a demonic dagger that Daniel recognised as having belonged to Paul Bearer.

The entire warehouse burst into flame, and Daniel tossed aside the empty weapon in favor of his ice power. Kane and the Undertaker glared at him with evil in their eyes, and the Undertaker stepped forward first, into a blizzard of Daniel's power, through which an enormous jet of flame shone, and struck Daniel in the chest. He was lifted off his feet and flung through the wall behind him, into a night bearing only a natural chill. Daniel was at his strongest in extreme cold, and he had been refrigerating the warehouse for days. Now, the home-field advantage had gone directly from Daniel to Mark, whose entire strategy revolved around fear, darkness…

…and overwhelming amounts of electrokinesis, the power over electricity and lightning, which Daniel felt firsthand as the Undertaker unleashed a torrent of lightning five feet thick, reminding Daniel of what he expected the inside of a Tesla coil to look like. He was consumed in the electricity, and he fell to his hands and knees, in agony. A normal human would be completely destroyed by such power, but Daniel was electrokinetic himself, so for him, it was like being shot with a hundred stun guns at once.

As it was, he was close to death from the shock to his heart, which was racing, and threatening to stop completely. He was blinded by the searing light, and deaf from the bellow of thunder that the lightning had left. His ears were bleeding, his eyes squeezed shut and useless anyway, and most of the feeling in his body fried by the electrocution, but he was alive. He could at least feel his lungs expand with air, and he could feel his heart pounding, in fact, a feeble thought crossed his mind that his attackers could probably locate him in the dark, just by the sound of his heartbeat.

Whether by hearing or sight, they found him, and he dimly felt a hand close around his throat. He had thought he was crawling, but it seemed he had been on his back with his arms and legs flailing pointlessly… or perhaps the hand had risen from underground?

Regardless, he screamed in desperation and terror, unleashing all his power from an already tired and battered body. It came in the form of electricity, as well as frigid cryokinetic power, a freezing light, a subzero wind, the moisture in the air freezing and cutting at his foe like microscopic blades of ice, spikes of frozen water rising from deep underground and hopefully impaling his enemies. To the Undertaker and Kane, it was an attack, but it also began to heal Daniel, who weakly opened his eyes, and dismally noted that both his enemies were alive and well outside his shield. He was still half-blind, so the silhouettes of the Undertaker and Kane were almost indistinguishable, but a mask and a hood were still two separate garments and shapes, even to his foggy eyes.

A dark shape sliced through his weak barrier of ice, letting the various spikes of ice fall to the ground, revealing a next-to-helpless Daniel Bryan, curled in the fetal position, and preparing for the next wave of power he knew he would have to unleash, if he intended to survive…

"how do you like it, Daniel? Being on the receiving end of Dark Angel magic?"

AJ. "you bitch… I'm gonna kill your subhuman goons, and then I'm gonna make you suffer, nice and slow, before I finish you… and maybe I'll get more of your powers before it ends…" it was just a bluff, he was half expecting to die tonight.

A new hand came down on his throat, this one not plated in metal, and he roared the first thing that came to mind as Kane hefted him into the air, "NO!" A new, renewed blast of ice energy sent the two flying apart, and froze most of the surrounding area. Daniel stood shakily, and saw Kane already on his feet, barely shaken.

His eyes were clearing, and his hearing was becoming sharper, so he knew it was AJ replying, "yes," calmly and innocently.

Kane smirked. "I'll have to side with AJ on this one. I'm gonna personally put you through Hell."

The Undertaker stepped forward out of the night, and held Soulrend horizontally, letting its blade glint in the pale light of the moon, which had come out from behind the clouds, revealing his location. Then, he disappeared, with the sound of a bell once again, and it was the same heavy, deep toll that Bryan had heard before the onslaught had begun.

X

"no rest for the wicked. No peace for the damned, no sleep for the treacherous… save death." _I've heard those words before… I've spoken them myself._

"please, NO!" _the terror in Jackson's eyes is not new to me either. _

"rest in peace," Mark said simply, and stabbed. _The duty of an Angel of Death, done formally and efficiently at once. Perhaps Undertaker and Calaway have surpassed myself and Borden… yes, I like that idea. Abbadon must be defeated, and that means Undertaker must do something I failed to do, kill the Demon of Darkness. _

_What is that aura coming off Soulrend? _The blade of the Angel of Death was shimmering red, not the usual purple as it stole a soul. _In my time as Angel of Death, my scythe never gave off such a glow._

Scorpion watched as Mark withdrew the sword from Ezekiel Jackson's corpse, and didn't seem to notice the glow. _I understand it! When Azrael passed Soulrend from me posthumously to Undertaker, the sword's magic had been damaged by another Angel, Gabriel. Perhaps Undertaker doesn't have full access to its power. I know well that Soulrend can empower its master, it did so for me very often, but this is the first time a foe has fallen to Soulrend in the hands of Mark Calaway. The Undertaker himself has killed two foes that I know of, Gabriel and David Batista, and this red light wasn't apparent to him, otherwise he would have mentioned it to Mark, at least. _

_Hmm… perhaps with each soul it takes, Soulrend itself grows stronger, as does its master. Come to think of it, Soulrend seems weaker than it did in my hand. It has delivered blows to Mark Henry and Paul Wight that should have been lethal, but weren't, and even more so, I've yet to see Soulrend be used as anything more than a normal sword. I know very well that its potential is far greater, but really, I just attributed its decreased powers to the Undertaker's own lack of skill, and Mark's even more so. _

_But what if Soulrend is weakened? That means that Mark and the Undertaker have already defeated Abbadon twice, the second time almost without effort, with a weapon at far less than its full potential, which is now growing stronger with every kill. If Abbadon makes the mistake of summoning his small army of demons to Earth, then Soulrend can taste their souls, and increase in power exponentially. _

X

Scorpion lurked in the night, watching the Undertaker do battle with Daniel Bryan, an unusually powerful mortal. Kane was clutching his right arm, which was frozen solid. AJ was invisible to Bryan, watching and grinning as he was pushed back by the combined might of the Brothers of Destruction. She was circling the scene, fighting back the urge to laugh with sadistic glee, until she crossed paths with Scorpion. She yelped, and raised her hands to summon her telekinetic power, but Scorpion simply went back to watching the battle, as Daniel summoned another wave of frigid light and wind that froze everything in front of him, except the Undertaker. But then, Layla stepped forward out of the dark, and Bryan went after her with a barrage of lightning. Soulrend's blade was thrust between the attack and target, although Layla would have survived without a scratch.

"it's Mark under that hood… incredible."

"what do you mean?" AJ asked carefully.

"he's fighting with such skill… it's as though he was raised in our realm, Serenity, and taught to use his power from birth, except… he protected the human girl. The Undertaker would have thought faster, and known not to waste time blocking that lightning. The girl, the one you call L, she would have been fine."

"and you're a Dark Angel too. Awesome…"

"I was an Angel of Death… now I am a shadow, no more than that." Scorpion watched as Mark dodged another cryokinetic attack, and sheathed Soulrend. "what is he planning?" Mark pulled his hood down, revealing a very human face, except for the fiery red eyes. He gently gripped the collar of the coat he wore, his most fragile weapon, and pulled it both open and downward, letting it slide down over his shoulders and arms. It crumpled to the ground with the links of chainmail clinking, and Mark raised his fists, rather than his sword.

He approached Daniel like a shadow, all but invisible in the night, and delivered the first punch, a jaw-crunching haymaker, made all the more destructive by the gauntlets he wore. Daniel reeled, but came back with an uppercut to Mark's exposed chin. This only infuriated the taller, heavier, stronger man, who sent back a flurry of punches wreathed in Dark Angel metal and electrokinetic lightning. Daniel was knocked down, and punted a good ten feet away by Mark, who drew Soulrend again, but was blown back by a massive current of wind, carrying blue light and razor-sharp flakes of ice with it. "NO!"

"uh, I'd better go deal with this guy," AJ said politely to Scorpion, who watched as she sucker-punched Daniel Bryan, and said defiantly, "yes."

"NO!" Daniel unleashed a bolt of electricity, which AJ deflected with telekinesis.

"yes." she sent a wave of telekinetic energy forward, knocking Daniel through the air. The plan was coming together.

"NO!" he summoned water he had frozen in the sewers below, in chunks the size of cars, destroying the road from within.

AJ dodged and deflected the attacks, and as she saw Mark sit up, she cried out, "yes!" and fired one more blast of telekinesis.

Bryan flew backward, and landed on the business end of Soulrend. His soul flowed out of his body and into Mark's, as Soulrend gave off a red glow that everyone but Mark could see. Since he never mentioned it, no one took the glow as unusual. "no…"

"yes," Mark, Jake, and AJ all replied. Mark withdrew the blade from Daniel's back, and the corpse crumpled, but disappeared before it hit the ground. In its place stood AJ.

"did I just teleport?"

"yes," Jake replied, one last nod to their fallen foe.

"awesome." AJ teleported again, this time into Jake's arms, while Mark looked down in bewilderment at Soulrend, whose red glow he could finally see. The blade was pulsing with light, and also physically shaking, almost as though it had a heartbeat.

Scorpion watched as Mark waved the weapon experimentally. The red glow dissipated, and he reluctantly sheathed the weapon.

X

Hunter's sledgehammer, by contrast, was alight with a very visible blue fire, as he swung it over his head, bringing it down toward Dolph Ziggler. His headphones were lodged in his ears, drowning out Ziggler's trash talk and muffling Vickie's screams of fury. Motorhead's lead singer Lemmy was chanting into his ears, "the king grinned red, as he walked from the place… where the traitor lost both his name and his face…"

Although Ziggler dodged the sledgehammer, Hunter quoted the song. "on your knees, dog."

"bend over and kiss my ass, you Thor-wannabe, stick-swinging caveman."

Hunter wasn't listening, the Motorhead was too loud.

AJ was holding back Vickie's sonic attacks with a bubble of telekinesis, but it wouldn't last long. It was only an hour or so since Daniel had been killed, but she already felt far stronger, thanks to retrieving her stolen powers from her deceased nemesis. She was beginning to use her powers in creative new ways, as well as making extensive use of teleportation.

As the force field around Vickie was shattered, AJ teleported again, nearly slamming into the man once known as Randy Orton. She gasped, and jumped back, while the Viper glared at her icily. Then, the schizophrenic sociopath that Orton had become turned back to face the newcomers, Eve Torres and Alberto Del Rio. _You will have to kill them, _the voices whispered. _Do it quickly, the woman can hear us._

Everyone stopped fighting, as Eve began to telepathically force everyone to calm down. "look, Alberto and I have nothing to do with this, so you guys tear each other to pieces, and leave us the hell out of it."

The Viper hissed like his namesake, and Eve's hold on everyone was destroyed. Her words still held weight, but she couldn't hypnotize them with the Viper interfering. She was afraid, terrified to touch his demented mind.

The Rock responded angrily, "do you think we're so stupid that we'll buy that? That we don't know you're here to save your pals' candy asses? Is that… what you… think?"

"I…" Eve began.

"it doesn't matter what you think! And the Rock is gonna tell you why it doesn't matter what you think. It doesn't matter, 'cause we already got a couple of cans of ass-whuppin on the go, and these sumbitches are gonna get smacked down, whether they got backup or not. And as for you…" he glared directly at Eve. "stay the hell out of my head, 'cause the mind games ain't working, Ms. Jabroni!"

Eve quickly argued, "I'm not in your head. The resident psycho is keeping me from connecting to anyone." she nodded to the Viper. "before you ask, yeah, I was trying to hypnotize you earlier, because I value my life, and I want to get the hell out of this fucked-up ghost town."

"fine. You and King Douchebag over there…" Rocky gestured to Alberto, "have about ten seconds to get your candy asses out of here, before the Rock rams his size-fifteen boot up whatever one is closest."

"eh, perro, the lady is going." Alberto Del Rio looked around, ready to attack. "I'm staying in this hellhole city until John Cena is dead."

"you wanna bet?" Hunter raised his hammer, and held it with both hands like a bat. "get out of here before I hit a home run."

Del Rio grinned. "batter up, perro."

"hey now, hold on for a second," the Rock said, and held his hands in the air, as if to pacify everyone. "before we get to ass-kickin, the Rock is gonna show ya why they say the Rock is electrifying!"

The lights along the street they were fighting on flared into life, far brighter then they would ever have shone normally. The Rock had nodded his head forward, letting the sunglasses on his forehead slide down over his eyes just before the lights came on. Everyone else was stunned for a moment, but the Rock lunged forward, his arms raised in preparation for an attack, wreathed in lightning.

X

At the same time, several miles away on a suburban street, Show's fist collided with Mark's skull, sending him flying through a wall. This allowed Show to focus on Kane, who looked down at Soulrend, which Mark had dropped.

Mark continued smashing through three more walls, but when he stopped, he quickly stood, and used his growing telekinetic power to tear apart the house he had just been blown through. The storm of debris was shot forward until it consumed both Kane and Show.

Kane, by this time, had summoned the full extent of his demonic fire, and was completely consumed in orange flame, radiating light and heat outward into the cataclysm that Mark had created. Show was stumbling backward out of the vortex, blinded and disoriented by the debris, and the smoke coming off the planks Kane was burning. The metal of the pipes in the house had already melted, and the glowing lava was coalescing around Kane, forming a larger, all but indestructible body.

The lava-forged demon roared, while Show cleared the edge of the debris cloud, and picked up a car, which he promptly threw at Kane, who swatted it aside with his right forearm. The car was smashed to bits, which then joined the debris cloud.

Show heard the tolling bell of Mark's teleportation, and saw him, faintly, appearing inside the storm, and retrieving Soulrend. Three more houses crumbled down and joined the whirlpool of destruction, obscuring Mark completely, and dimming the light of the lava-creature Kane was hiding inside.

Suddenly, Mark came fling out of the cloud of dust and debris, with Soulrend held over his head. "rest in peace!" he bellowed as he brought the blade down toward Show's head. With a normal sword, Show would have been cut in two, but instead, Soulrend passed through Show, leaving his body unharmed but his soul ravaged.

Show stepped backward, dizzy and in such agony that he could barely keep his eyes from squeezing shut. Mark raised his weapon again, with its purple glow having already turned to red. Show fell backward, and feebly raised his hand in defense. "please… show mercy."

"I am the Angel of Death," Mark thundered, and held the sword with its tip pointed downward at Show's heart. "the only mercy I can afford you is a quick journey into oblivion. Rest in peace." he stabbed, and for the fifth time since Scorpion's death, Soulrend took a life.

The result was cataclysmic.

X

Scorpion wandered aimlessly through the smoke-wreathed field of destruction, until at last he found Mark, his Dark Angel armour covered in ash. He was on one knee, trying to haul himself to his feet using Soulrend as a crutch. "Calaway. Get up."

"I don't think I can."

"you have no choice. The fate of the world will be decided before sunset tomorrow, and I cannot sense the Undertaker. I don't believe he's dead, in fact, I know he is alive. The fact that you endured a blast that sent Undertaker all the way back to Serenity means that you have become more powerful than the Angel of Death himself. Now, stand, and raise your sword."

Mark groaned, and forced himself to his feet, without removing his grip on Soulrend's hilt. Expecting the full weight of the weapon to resist him, Mark drew Soulrend from the ground with a considerable amount of strength. However, it came weightlessly from the dirt, and Mark stumbled backward with it raised over his head.

"swing your sword."

_My sword? It's not mine, it's the Undertaker's… isn't it? I guess I might as well just go with the flow here…_ Mark brought Soulrend down diagonally, and watched in surprise as a wave of blood-red energy flew forward from the air he had cut, and the ground in front of him. The blast of energy was enormous, and it ravaged the land in front of him even more than the initial explosion had. "what the hell was that?"

"that is Retribution, the true power of the Angel of Death… or at least, it once was." Scorpion had been standing within the blast, but was unharmed, having been already dead. "it's difficult to explain to a mortal, but I'll do my best. There are four worlds, as you know. Heaven, Hell, Earth, and Serenity, the realm of the Dark Angels. The energy you just generated should solely have been from the Dark Angel realm, but after my death, and before the Undertaker succeeded me, Soulrend was tampered with by an Angel named Gabriel. He damaged the magic of the blade by adding Angel magic, in order to murder Azrael. The elements in the sword were thus thrown out of balance, so Soulrend acted on its own will. It has been absorbing energy from your world, as well as demonic energy from Abbadon and Kane's possessor, Kalkydra, during your encounters. It has achieved a new balance of power, and now it is no longer the blade of the Angel of Death. It has decided that it can henceforth only be wielded by a human… in fact, I believe it has specifically chosen you, Mark."

Scorpion summoned a ghostly image of a scythe, and finished, "Azrael must be succeeded. A new sword must be forged. The Undertaker and his host have become separated, and one of the most powerful demons in existence is roaming free on Earth. Today is a day of irreversible change, and I fear the End Times will soon be upon us… if they have not already begun. Good luck, Angel of Death."

As Scorpion disappeared, Mark held up Soulrend in the dim moonlight. "Retribution…" he swung the sword again, this time with much more force, and another massive wave of energy spread forth over the ground, this time, growing higher in the shapes of roiling flames, raking the air above. As the red light died out, Mark sheathed his sword, and went to search for Kane.

X

AJ arrived on the other end of her teleport, with her left arm wrapped around Jake's considerable bulk. "what the fuck happened back there?" she asked shocked and concerned.

"I don't know, but you saved my life… oh, shit, we left Mark back there!"

AJ blanched. "oh, God. There's no way he could have survived that explosion."

"you saw it too."

"yeah, it looked like it was coming off Soulrend…" AJ looked around. "where the hell is everybody? There was a huge fight going on here, and I sensed you were in danger, so I teleported to you and came back… so where'd everybody go?"

"they're in that tower," Jake replied as he caught the blue light of Hunter's attacks. He shook a bit of molten metal off his left hand, and adjusted his mask with his right.

"well, let's get in there. We can worry about Mark later."

X

Mark, while headed in the general direction of the ongoing battle, had been stopped by a crimson-skinned demon holding a battleaxe of blackened demonic metal. "let me guess, one of Abbadon's minions?"

"minion? I resent that, in fact I'm an old friend of his."

"then maybe he'll mourn you… but I doubt it."

"oh, I know I'm no match for you, Undertaker. That's why I brought friends… thousands of them." a huge, dark red portal appeared behind the demon, out of which emerged a legion of unearthly horrors, most of which were dripping blood, alight with flame, made solely of bones, or some combination of these. Only the blood-skinned one in front took a human form.

Mark unsheathed Soulrend, proud of how easily it moved in his hand now. "these demons won't even be a nuisance to me…" he raised his weapon, and brought it down on an imaginary foe, instead cutting only air. The power of Retribution was unleashed, and it annihilated the entire army of Abbadon's followers, save for one snake-shaped demon at the very back of the legion. He glared at the creature, and said, "tell Abbadon what you have seen here, and tell him I'll soon lay him to rest." Mark sheathed Soulrend and continued as the demon meekly and silently floated away. "now where is Kane?"

He sniffed, and smelled the charcoal and molten metal on Kane, the vanilla perfume of AJ, the acidic electrical scent of Hunter's hammer, as well as several other distinct scent trails. Following them, he closed in on the battle.

As he approached, he saw significantly less destruction than he expected, and heard no sounds of battle. _Something's wrong… I don't even smell any blood… and how did my senses get this sharp anyway? I understand Soulrend getting stronger, but this? Wait… yeah, I get it. I killed Show, and Soulrend's ability to give me new powers must have heightened my senses. I feel invincible… _Mark drew Soulrend, and looked up at the tower from which all the scents were emanating. After sniffing again, he noticed another scent, this one was another perfume, obnoxiously strong. It smelled of cherries and roses, so intensely it was repulsive. "Eve. Eve Torres! Surrender my allies to me, or I will eat your soul!"

_Do your worst, I'm not afraid of an electrokinetic with a fancy sword!_

Mark held Soulrend out at his side, and chopped downward, sending out another blast of Retribution. "say that again! Say you're not afraid of me!"

Eve was silent for a while, but eventually, she responded, _if I let your friends go, will you spare my life?_

"that depends on how quickly you leave my city."

_Fine. Give me two hours, and I'll get out. I want to take Del Rio with me, though._

"he's of no consequence to me…" Mark muttered quietly, "damned gold digger."

"I heard that!" Eve called out in person, and appeared in a window. She looked haunted and traumatized, and Mark guessed it was from colliding with the Viper's scarred mind. "he saved my life, I owe him."

"like I said, Del Rio doesn't matter. Where are Ziggler and Guerrero?"

"they already ran away. I'm telepathic, I heard their thoughts. If they aren't already gone, they'll be outside Death Valley in a matter of minutes."

"and everyone else?"

"alive and under my control."

"give them to me. You have twenty seconds."

Hunter, the Viper, the Rock, Kane, and AJ all filed out the front door of the building, obviously in full control of their minds and bodies from the moment they stepped outside. "now you'll let me go, right?"

"get out of my sight," Mark growled, and Eve quickly turned and left.

X

Abbadon listened to the demon underling recount a story of how the human Mark Calaway had vanquished his entire army with a single swing of Soulrend. The sun was rising, and Abbadon laid his left hand on the hilt of his own sword, sitting in the scabbard at his waist. The pentagram on the floor faded, and he stepped forward. "…he told me to tell you something, master, so I memorized it religiously. He said, 'tell him I'll soon lay him to rest.'"

"did he?" Abbadon drew his sword, and said, "I find it so amusing… to kill the messenger."

"please…" the demon shrieked as Abbadon swung, severing the minion's head.

"today is the day I conquer the world."


	14. Sunrise, part 1

A/N: I apologize in advance for how short this chapter is. I'm already kicking myself for uploading a chapter this short after the 4000-word monster (by my standards) that I dropped last time.

Mark stared grimly into the mirror in front of him, in a bathroom of Glenn Tower. His eyes were still red, and although he could turn off the glowing, it still unnerved him. Soulrend was in its scabbard at his waist, he hadn't drawn it since the incident with Eve. That much power was too much to risk using around all his allies and friends. And of course, there was the matter that he hadn't yet discovered any new powers developed by killing Daniel Bryan. Bryan had been incredibly powerful, so whatever new ability he had acquired, it would likely be impressive.

Mark turned slightly, and listened to Abbadon's distant voice. "Undertaker. I have prepared the site of our final battle. Since I'm feeling good today, I'll warn you that most of your followers will be unable to enter my realm. Come today, or the world will be forfeit to me."

As soon as Mark stepped outside, he saw what Abbadon had called his realm. A dome of absolute black had filled most of Death Valley, and in fact, the edge of the realm was only a few blocks away from Glenn Tower. "you've grown stronger."

"not stronger, fool. When we last fought, you defeated only a fragment of me. Now, almost half my soul has entered this realm. Still, the story of your own new powers has me intrigued. Show me, now." six skeletal demons emerged from Abbadon's darkness, and Mark drew Soulrend, which hissed as it left its scabbard.

"an opportunity to experiment… thanks." to oblige Abbadon, Mark killed one demon with Retribution, but left the other five, so he could try to discover his new abilities. The demons surrounded him, and he let Soulrend hang limply at his side, waiting for an attack. It came, as a demon behind him raised a war hammer. Mark breathed deeply, and stepped to the right, letting the hammer smash into the pavement. He turned, and punched the demon in its skeletal ribcage, smashing it to bits. He raised Soulrend, and was about to strike down the next, but he hesitated, as Soulrend showed him an image of a tornado, glowing a vibrant purple from within.

He stepped back, out of the way of a demon's clumsy attack, and cut the air, as he would to summon Retribution, but instead, a quiet breeze whistled off the edge of his sword. The demons looked around, confused, but everything became clear when the breeze picked up speed, and began to whirl around into a tightening vortex of purple energy. The demons screamed in unearthly voices, as their souls were torn from their bodies, in the form of purple mist. The dead skeletons crumpled to the ground, and Mark took another message from Soulrend. _This is the Soul Vortex. It draws in a weak enemy's soul. _He held his sword out into the tornado, and watched as the light was absorbed by Soulrend and the wind died out. The blade pulsed a faint purple, then went dark as Mark sheathed it.

_Almost half his soul is here… but that's not enough to kill him. Knowing Abbadon, he'll have summoned as much of his power as possible, just barely under half. _

Mark's eyes widened. _The dagger! The one Jake now has, it was originally given to Paul Bearer by Abbadon. It has demonic energy inside, even though it's just a little. If that energy, however miniscule, is a fragment of Abbadon's soul, then it means we can merge it with his body, and that'll mean that just over half his soul will be inside Brock Lesnar. That'll be enough… we can end this today!_

X

One by one, the members of Evolution tried to enter Abbadon's dark realm, but only a few succeeded. Kane, AJ, Layla, and Mark himself were the only ones who could pass through the barrier, which was a solid wall to everyone else. As Mark stepped into the artificial night, he was already strategizing. He knew Retribution would be his main weapon against Abbadon, so he would try to maintain enough distance to actually use it. Meanwhile, the Soul Vortex would take care of any weaker demons Abbadon summoned as a distraction. Kane would have to unite Abbadon's soul with the fragment in his dagger before Mark could actually try to kill him, otherwise Abbadon would simply be cast back to Hell, where he would gather strength, and eventually visit Earth again. But how could they force Abbadon to take back a piece of his soul?

He turned back to face Hunter, and said, "everyone who can't get through, get yourselves out of the city. I can't guarantee anything will be left standing by tonight." his mind flashed back to when the Undertaker had explained Scorpion's final encounter with Abbadon, and the resulting blast that destroyed both of them, and was passed off to the whole world as a nuclear bomb test. "the three of you, come with me if you want, but I can't guarantee any of us is going to survive. This is it."

"no, fools!" Abbadon's voice rang out from everywhere at once, and they looked around. "you think it ends today? I've already won, I'm twice as powerful as all of you combined!"

"then prove it," Mark growled, and drew Soulrend.

"exhibit A," Abbadon said slowly, "I have an army."

The air filled with black smoke, obscuring everyone's view. Kane, with the powers of the demon Kalkydra, was completely immune, as was Layla, but Mark's eyesight went blurry and he coughed once. AJ had faintly heard Abbadon's plan, and covered her face with her left sleeve. With her free right hand, she readied a handgun loaded with Dark Angel metal, awaiting the attack they all knew would soon come.

Mark was slightly dizzy, but he could still think and see clearly enough to detect the incoming army of humanoid demons, all wreathed in beaten, ragged armour. He swung Soulrend once, summoning Retribution. The tremendous wave of energy from all four realms blasted away the smoke between Evolution and the demons, but most of the demons themselves were unharmed.

Abbadon laughed. "you can't even kill my minions. You don't even know where I am!"

Layla spoke up, "you're at the dead centre of this dome. You summoned it around yourself, and have not seen fit to leave."

Abbadon was silent, but Mark continued, "you know as well as we do that this army won't stop us. We'll come for you, and kill you."

"I dare you to try."

Mark created a Soul Vortex, but the demons barely flinched under its pull. Their souls were too strongly bound to their bodies. He blocked an attacking demon's sword, and countered by swinging Soulrend through its neck, watching as the demon crumpled and its soul was sucked into the growing tornado. _If I weaken them with a few normal swings, the Soul Vortex can effect them… _in his peripheral vision, he saw Layla jump six feet in the air, and kick a demon in the jaw. Landing on her feet with ease and grace, she seized the demon's dropped sword, and whipped the point across its throat as she stood up straight again, killing it. Its soul, too, was pulled into the Soul Vortex. Layla ducked a swinging battleaxe, and impaled her next attacker. As this demon died, and its soul was fed into the growing storm, a third approached Layla from behind, but she mule-kicked it, whipped the demonic sword out of her previous foe's corpse, and decapitated her third enemy.

Mark mumbled to himself, "that was awesome," then blocked his second demon's spear thrust, and countered with a lightning bolt to the face.

Layla looked around, seeing that the remaining demons were out of her sword's reach. She saw Mark looking at her, and memories blasted through her mind.

Layla had heard Mark talking to the Undertaker in his room, and although she couldn't hear the Undertaker's responses to Mark's statements, two particular events struck her.

X

"Undertaker… damn it, I know you can hear me. We have to talk about this shit." Layla had been immediately drawn to the monitor at this statement. She didn't worry herself with Mark's privacy, there were lives at state and a battle to win.

"from now on, I don't want you kicking me out of my own body, at least not without warning. I'd understand if it was in battle, if we were fighting Abbadon, but in the Paragon, you just took over. You could have let me know." _oh, that's interesting, not particularly useful, but interesting._

"because you scared her shitless. Layla. It's bad enough that she had to hang out with a normal Dark Angel, but you? You look like the goddamn Grim Reaper. You know, Death himself? I'm not sure if it's just a mortal legend, or if he really existed, but it doesn't matter. You wanna scare people, you make damn sure they're the enemy." _Mark is concerned about me? Concerned enough to confront the Angel of Death?_

"she didn't think you were capable of killing her. That doesn't mean she wasn't scared." _Ah, but I wasn't… still, I appreciate the sentiment…_

"yeah, damn right you do. My body, my rules, so you can take your lightning and your magic sword somewhere else if you pull that shit again." _he's quite angry about this…_

"shove it up your undead ass. Of course I am." _you are… what? It's so frustrating to only have half the puzzle, and be expected to solve it._

"what the hell is that supposed to mean?" _since I don't know what the Undertaker said, it could mean anything._

"isn't that a good thing?" _so, there's good news. Too bad I don't know it._

"so we kick Abbadon's ass, and figure out how to fix this bloodline crap with Soulrend. But you will not commandeer my body by force, ever again." _bloodline? Ah, Scorpion mentioned Azrael's successor… this conversation ties in with me. Although it's quite arrogant of me to assume so, it's possible that I am Azrael's successor._

"then I'll give you control. Temporarily. And I 'intend to meet her' in about twenty minutes." Mark stood, and went to grab his trenchcoat, but then turned to look out the window, into the blinding sunlight, and decided against it. _yes, this confirms that he's once again talking about me. This is evidence that I am connected to Azrael somehow._

X

The second event was during the battle with Daniel Bryan. Rather than going for an opening that was painfully obvious to Layla, Mark put his sword between her and a bolt of lightning that wouldn't even have stung. By itself, this protection could be attributed to some human instinct to protect allies, or perhaps a misguided notion of chivalry, but when coupled with Mark's argument with the Undertaker, the picture became clearer. After vehemently opposing the Undertaker for supposedly scaring her, he had made a rather enigmatic statement. "of course I am."

Now, seeing Mark watching her rather than the demonic threat to his life, Layla deduced what the Undertaker must have. Now that all the puzzle pieces were gathered, Layla was disappointed she hadn't realized it sooner. Mark was interested in her, and now that she saw their conversations in a different light, she scolded herself for not seeing it blatantly. She was the most intelligent human being in the universe… _and yet, I failed to pick up on these basic emotions and feelings. Why? Why didn't I see it…_

Layla slammed her sword into a demon attacker's weapon, then powerfully kicked it in the ribs, doubling it over. She raised her sword with both hands, and brought it down on the back of the demon's neck, decapitating it. _how many have I killed? I've lost track…_

"fifty-six!" _that was Kane's voice… he's competing with someone._

Mark's voice rang out in answer, "eighty-nine!"

"slow down, man!"

"no chance, it's ready anyway!" _ready? Layla turned and watched as Mark, standing on the other side of the Vortex, ravaged Abbadon's realm with Retribution, washing the land in fiery red light and engulfing the Soul Vortex in pure energy. To her surprise, the two forces combined into a radiant white light. Layla watched as the wall of energy approached, consuming her. She expected to feel no pain, but she was surprised to actually feel stronger and healthier as the light continued to annihilate demons behind her._

_X_

_The Undertaker had been fearing that Mark had died. He had tried to re-enter the mortal realm, but only certain humans could host a Dark Angel's soul, and there had only ever been one in Death Valley. That person was Mark Calaway, but when the Undertaker had been blasted back to Serenity, he had discovered that that opening had closed. Now, the opening had returned, and the Undertaker made a beeline for it. He teleported immediately between Serenity and Earth, floating as a disembodied soul high above Death Valley. Abbadon's barrier didn't hinder him at all, so he continued downward through the black smoke and fading white light, into the body of the sword-swinging warrior that received his soul without hesitation, but as he watched through the eyes of the human, he saw two shocking images._

_Firstly, the sword was not Soulrend._

_Secondly, Mark was standing next to this human, smiting demons as though the Undertaker himself were already guiding his hand. _


	15. Sunrise, part 2

Mark sheathed Soulrend, and cracked his knuckles, surveying the carnage the Soul Vortex had created when he destroyed it. Abbadon's entire army was gone, leaving the Demon of Darkness alone in his realm. He grinned, and said proudly, "that went better than I thought."

AJ holstered her handguns, and Kane extinguished the flames which lit up his bare arms. It was Kane who asked, confused, "where the hell did Layla go?"

Mark flinched, and looked around in panic, seeing nothing in the darkness except his other two allies. Retribution had combined with the Soul Vortex and generated a white light which, when coupled with the darkness that immediately returned, blinded all of them.

"over here," Layla called out, and Mark turned to face the voice. What he saw was not a human body. Instead, Layla's entire body was wreathed in an ancient black robe, her face obscured by the darkness of her hood. This was the robe Mark had worn as Angel of Death, and if not for her voice and the demon sword in her hand, Mark would have assumed it was the Undertaker himself, although in a way, it was.

"what… happened to you?" Mark asked feebly.

"it would seem the Undertaker has returned, but has possessed the wrong person," Layla stated calmly.

_No… _the Undertaker's thoughts were broadcast to them all. _This is how it was meant to be. It confirms that you, Layla El, are Azrael's replacement as Keeper of the Line of Death. It all makes sense now. Azrael died fifty years ago, and sometime after that, you were born with an indestructible body, to prevent a second assassination. _

"so what do we have to do?" Mark asked.

_That is simple. Firstly, we are to kill Abbadon. We can win this, but after that, a new sword must be forged to replace Soulrend. Then I must choose a new avatar, the Angel of Death who will wield it, and lastly, we must deal with the anomaly this situation has created. That anomaly is Soulrend, and more importantly Mark Calaway, who is now bound to it in a way I cannot even fathom. Mark, you are no longer the Angel of Death. Once Abbadon is dead, we must find out what you have become._

"then let's go," Kane growled, and reignited his arms.

"wait," Mark said firmly, and held out his left hand. "Kane, give me the dagger." Silently, Kane tossed the demonic weapon to Mark, who caught it by the dull blade and drew Soulrend with his other hand. "let's hope this works," Mark said, and laid the dagger on the ground. He stabbed down into the blade with Soulrend, and twisted, breaking the dagger and absorbing the fragment of Abbadon's soul, but not consuming it. "here's the plan… once I kill Lesnar, Abbadon's other chunk of soul will be absorbed into Soulrend. There, it'll combine with the piece from his dagger, and I'll destroy over half his soul at once. That'll be enough to kill him."

"you make it sound so easy," Abbadon thundered, and came down from the sky. He was wielding a sword of almost pure black, with a dim blue glow. He swung it, sending out a blast of black smoke, but Mark swept Soulrend to the right, sending out a wave of Retribution's vivid red light. The two forces collided, but Retribution went dim and grey, as Abbadon's attack burrowed through it. Mark leapt out of the way, and rolled to his feet as he summoned his Dark Angel armour.

By the time he stood, however, Abbadon was already in front of him, and slashed across his chest with the dark weapon, shattering several plates off his chest and sending him flying. Layla, the only one confident in her safety around Abbadon, charged into battle, ducked Abbadon's swing just in case, and uppercutted the Demon of Darkness. Abbadon stumbled backward, and Layla followed up with a flying kick. Abbadon responded with a forceful slash of his weapon, knocking Layla away, but even this didn't draw blood.

Mark, by now, had recovered, and leapt forward with a battlecry, stabbing into Abbadon's chest with Soulrend. The demon simply punched him in the face, and drew Soulrend from his chest, panting. He sheathed his own demonic weapon, and gave Soulrend a swing. "perfect… I've won!"

"you wanna bet?" Mark wiped the blood from his chin, and balled his fists. "you don't look so good. I bet I could take you in a fistfight at this point."

"you've already tried…" Abbadon sniffed, and realized his nose was bleeding. "now, leave this place. Enjoy the sunlight while you can, because as my army spreads over the Earth, the sun will be blotted out in its wake."

"I hit you on the chin," Layla mumbled, half to herself. "why is your nose bleeding? Aside from that, why are you so tired, and why did the blows of a human even stagger you?"

"silence!" Abbadon roared, and swung Soulrend, creating a blast of Retribution. However, the red light that Mark's attacks created was from all four realms, and Abbadon could only use his own demonic power. Thus, his Retribution was grey, foggy, and weakened. Layla didn't even flinch as it hit her and washed past.

"is that really your best?"

Abbadon snarled, and drew his own black sword. Swinging it created another of the same blast that overwhelmed Retribution, so Layla dodged as Mark had, diving to one side. Abbadon let his sword drop at his side, with his hand only limply on the hilt. He was very visibly in pain, and weakened, but he managed to sheathe his sword again, and spread his wings. "fine… it seems I cannot kill you today, but you will watch your friends die when I come back for you, and then the world will burn around you. Then again, there are still weapons I have yet to try on you… your time will come."

He flew away, and Layla immediately spoke up. "using that black sword weakens him with every swing. It also seems to be injuring him." she turned to face Mark, as she added, "if we can get Soulrend back… oh, dear God!"

Mark's chest had been slashed open by Abbadon's demonic weapon, and he had lost a lot of blood. Somehow, he was standing upright. "I should be dead by now," he muttered weakly, and sat. The loss of blood was making him dizzy.

Layla, normally chillingly calm, was now as panicked as everyone else. They had no way to help him, and even if they had a full first-aid kit, it would take forever to stitch and bandage such a wound. Mark had already lost too much blood, he wouldn't live much longer.

He coughed blood, which dripped down onto his chin, as he lay on his back on the ground. His heart rate was slowing, his blood dripping out of him into the dirt. He knew he was going to die. "Layla… come here for a second…" weakly, he raised his arm to his face and wiped the blood from his chin on the back of his hand. Layla crouched next to him, and put a hand on one of the few dry panels of his armour. Without warning, he leapt upward with all of his fading strength, and kissed her. "had to do that… figure I'll get away with it if I'm dead…" he coughed again.

"Mark… Mark?" his eyes were glazed over, the trickle of blood coming to his chest came to a halt, and he breathed one last time. "oh, God…" she gently removed her hand from his chest, and went to close his eyes…

And then the impossible happened. Mark blinked as he felt his heart stop. He took no more breaths, and felt no pain from the gaping wound on his chest, which was already beginning to heal before their eyes. He sat bolt upright, and blinked again, looking around in shock. His hand went to his chest, and he quickly pulled it back at the sensation of flesh rebuilding under his touch. "what the fuck?"

_How many have you killed? _The Undertaker's thoughts blasted into his mind with a sense of urgency unlike anything Mark had ever felt.

"uh, six or seven thousand by now…" Mark groaned as his heart suddenly restarted, sending a pounding headache into his temples.

_And you have absorbed power from their souls, sufficient enough to bind your own soul to your body, even after you are slain. I doubt you will have another chance like this, but for now, you have been resurrected. A deadman walking._

"awesome."

"Mark, listen to me." Layla spoke, and dissolved her Dark Angel robes back into normal clothing. "Abbadon weakens every time he swings his sword. If you can get Soulrend back, you can beat him, all you have to do is outlast him."

"I think I can do that…" he stood, and was about to speak again, but Layla cut him off by kissing him.

"aw, come on, guys. Get a room," AJ muttered.

Layla broke off the kiss, and gestured around at the wasteland of Abbadon's realm. "there aren't any rooms left."

X

Abbadon held Soulrend in his right hand, and his own sword in his left. He was surrounded by black smoke, and fully healed from his previous battle. "so why is it you actually obeyed me?" he asked the sword, which he knew was reasonable, the sword was as conscious as its master.

_My motives are my own. I allowed you to unleash Retribution because I saw it would benefit me._

"is that so? And how exactly does it benefit you?" Abbadon heard a bell tolling in the distance, and since there were no buildings left in his realm of darkness, he knew the sound was supernatural in origin.

_The main reason is that you made no attempt to destroy me. Aside from that, I have led my master to you._

Abbadon raised Soulrend, and swung it, faintly hoping that Retribution would fly forth, but nothing happened. Abbadon sheathed the weapon, and switched his dark blue sword to his right hand. "I'll fold you in half once I'm done killing Calaway!"

Without warning, Mark appeared in front of Abbadon through a teleport, and yanked Soulrend from the makeshift sheath at Abbadon's waist. He then stabbed into Abbadon's chest, pulled back again, and swung Soulrend, once again summoning Retribution. Neither attack was enough to kill Abbadon, but the Demon of Darkness was forced to take to the sky.

Without remembering that he was no longer the Angel of Death, Mark tried to sprout black wings from his back. To his surprise, he still had wings, so he flew after Abbadon. In midair, Mark attacked with Retribution again, but Abbadon didn't even bother to dodge.

"nothing has changed," Abbadon hissed as he swung his sword.

Mark dodged the blast of absolute darkness, and replied calmly, "you're right. Nothing has changed, so when I kill you this time, it'll matter that much more." without another word, Mark beat his wings forward, pushing himself away from Abbadon. He summoned a Soul Vortex that floated between them, but Abbadon ignored it completely, and lunged through the air, sweeping his blue sword down toward Mark's head. Mark brought Soulrend up to defend himself, and the two blades smashed together with violent force.

X

The sound of the impact was audible on the ground far below, where Kane, AJ, and Layla were once again surrounded by demons. Kane crushed an attacker's skull with a punch wreathed in flame, while AJ reduced the innards of six others to a bloody pulp through her telekinesis, which had become much stronger since Daniel Bryan's death. Layla caught an incoming greatsword, kicked its owner in the gut, and decapitated him. She swung the greatsword in a wide arc, slashing through three more demons. "Undertaker? Am I now the Angel of Death?"

_No, that title still falls to me. You have replaced Azrael, without you, there will never be another Angel of Death. _

"hm. Did Azrael ever find himself in a position like this?"

_Not that I know of, but he was older than the Dark Angel race itself. It was he who forged Soulrend for the Grim Reaper himself. _

Layla impaled yet another demon, then disarmed one wielding a scythe. "thanks for the idea," she said quietly, and swung the scythe with both hands, beheading three demons at once. "I think I like this one."

AJ glanced over at Layla, in her shadowy black robes, wielding a massive demonic scythe. "okay, that's just awesome." she ducked a demon's sword, and tore him to bits with a blast of telekinesis.

Kane was silent as he ripped through a demon's chest with his bare hands, further bloodying them. Since most of these demons could survive in fire, he didn't waste energy to ignite himself.

X

Abbadon was tiring, and suffering from the use of his weapon as Layla had said he would, but Mark was tiring just as fast. Soon, he wouldn't even have enough energy to defend against Abbadon's attacks.

He dodged a heavy-handed swing from Abbadon, and flew backwards a few yards, putting distance between himself and his foe.

"one of us will soon meet our end, mortal, and I cannot die!"

"you wanna bet?" he looked around, and saw nothing but darkness, with only a faint line on the blackened horizon. Inspiration finally came, and he flew downward, giving Abbadon the high ground.

"face facts. In this darkness, I am invincible!"

"yeah… I know." Mark swung Soulrend upward, sending a blast of Retribution toward the top of the darkness-filled dome that formed Abbadon's realm. It flew past Abbadon, who watched in shock and horror as it slammed into the barrier that had kept Evolution outside. Cracks appeared in the barrier, and spread, allowing the first rays of glorious sunlight to pierce the smoke and gloom. The dome shattered, and its massive pieces began to rain down. Since everyone inside already knew they could pass through it without harm, there was no reason to panic, except for Abbadon, who was now severely weakened. He swung the dark sword again, but Mark dodged the slow swing with ease, then brought Soulrend down on Abbadon's wrist.

Although it couldn't cut flesh, the pain in his soul caused Abbadon to flinch and drop his weapon, which glowed like lava or the sun itself as it left his hand. Mark wasted no time in slashing upward at Abbadon again, then delivering several more strikes, further weakening the connection between Abbadon's soul and Brock Lesnar's body. He pulled back, and stabbed forward one last time, killing Abbadon. His soul, a faint wisp of purple smoke, drifted free of the corpse that fell to earth soon after. The Soul Vortex absorbed that soul, but then began to grow, blacken, and rage uncontrollably. "oh, shit."

"I warned you I could not die!" Abbadon's voice echoed as it boomed forth from the Soul Vortex. "Soulrend may be conscious, it may be powerful, but it is still just a sword! I, however, am the Demon of Darkness, and I am now master and ruler of the world!" a smoke-tainted wind knocked Mark from the air, and he landed far below on his back. "a body can be rebuilt, replaced. Perhaps I'll take yours as payment for the one you destroyed!"

Mark groaned, and got up, as Abbadon's wind tried to push him back down. He looked to his right, and saw Brock Lesnar's crumpled corpse. "I've already killed you, Abbadon. You're trying to take control of the Soul Vortex that I created… do you really expect that to work?" Mark straightened, and held Soulrend up between himself and Abbadon. "just give up. Go to your death with some dignity."

"haven't you been listening? I am immortal! I cannot die, but that seems to be beyond your comprehension."

"immortal? Let's test that theory!" Mark leapt into the air, assisted by his wings, and aimed Retribution at the Soul Vortex, consuming it in burning red light.

Abbadon's disembodied voice laughed, the sound echoing in the silence after Mark's attack. "you've just given me more power!"

"yeah, but the problem is, it's _my_ power." Mark landed as he attacked again, and this time, as Retribution's light faded, the Soul Vortex was glowing a dim purple. "again!" he swung, and once Retribution died away, the Soul Vortex shone brighter, more like its original form. Using Soulrend, he commanded the Soul Vortex to land in front of him. Abbadon roared, continuing to claim immortality in both English and a guttural demonic language, but Mark lifted Soulrend again, and sliced through the glowing purple twister that briefly served as Abbadon's body. The souls within, including almost half of Abbadon's soul, were absorbed by Soulrend as the Soul Vortex dissipated on the breeze. "Abbadon… rest in peace."

X

Epilogue

_My name is Mark Calaway… but that's not who I am. I left that life behind when I took this job. _

Mark's left hand rested comfortably on Soulrend's hilt. The sword hung as usual at his hip, as he looked around at the wasteland where Death Valley had once been.

_Now I have a new name, a new life, a new home. Death Valley is gone, Abbadon is gone, and Mark Calaway is gone. I am now the Undertaker, wielder of Soulrend and peacekeeper between all three worlds. _

Jacob Calaway, meanwhile, laid his mask in the ashes where Glenn Asylum for the Dangerously Insane had once stood. A glance to his right showed him the destroyed ground where the nuclear reactor had exploded, but looking to his left showed a much more positive sight, the smile of AJ Lee. "so it's finally over…" Jake lit his hand aflame, and considered melting his mask.

"are you kidding?" AJ laughed. "this is where the real fun begins! No more demons to kill is a good thing."

Jake balled a fist, extinguishing the fire in his palm, and smiled. "but where do we go from here? The whole city's destroyed, and I just broke out of this asylum a couple months ago."

"how does Venice sound? After all, nothing burns in water."

Mark patted his brother on the back, and grinned. "I have a feeling things are gonna go well for us, don't worry about it."

"yeah? And what should I tell you not to worry about?"

Mark listened to the sound of a helicopter's rotors in the distance, as L flew away. Unlike the rest of them, the events in Death Valley weren't the end for her, and she still had cases to solve, lives to save. "her."

"yeah, no shit. Not even you're dumb enough to get protective over the Angel of Death."

"probably because I'm going with her… but hey, we're brothers. We could get together for a drink sometime."

"yeah, and pretend we're normal. You know, I kind of prefer being the Brothers of Destruction."

"so we'll find some demons to bust up, but I've got a plane to catch. I gotta be in London in two days, so I'll see you 'round."

X

A/N: with summer break coming to a close, my golden age of update times is ending. I'm heading into Grade 12, and get this: I'm taking a guitar course _all year long!_ I got a Fender acoustic guitar for my birthday, and just today I started learning to play For Whom the Bell Tolls (one of my favourite songs ever.) So, with that and three other courses for the next six months, I'll have a lot on my plate, but I plan to turn that to my advantage. I'm already planning a sequel to this, and the chapters won't come as frequently, but if all goes well, they'll be longer. I'll complete a couple of my other fics before returning to this, my most successful story ever, by far. I hope you'll all stick around for the sequel, and remain as vocal as you are now. This story has twenty-three reviews right now, and by contrast, my second-place story has only nine. You guys are great!


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